Duke notches first top-20 victory of the season at Oregon State Classic

With the mystery behind how the rowing team gets their boats across the country now solved, all that was left was for Duke to show the cross-country effort was worth the trouble. Saturday, it did just that.

The Blue Devils defeated host No. 20 Oregon State as the pair faced off head-to-head in the varsity four and second varsity eight at the Oregon State Classic Saturday at Dexter Lake, clinching Duke's first against victories a top-20 opponent of the season.

"[Beating Oregon State] was very exciting for us," said senior team captain and coxswain Caroline Kiritsy. "We were ranked 20th two weeks ago and since we didn't race this past weekend, we were bumped back down, which is a common thing to happen."

Both races went down to the wire, with Duke taking both victories with a margin of victory of 1.04 seconds in the varsity four and 2.08 seconds in the second varsity eight. The tight finishes showed the composure and poise this Blue Devil team possesses, something that will bolster them in a month during postseason competition. Although the close races were the highlight of the afternoon, the day did not belong solely to the V4 and 2V8 boats.

The varsity eight team also had a great deal of success, as the squad notched its two best times of the season with a 6:37.53 finish against Oregon State and a 6:38.96 race against the entire field later on that afternoon.

The Beavers were not the only elite competition the Blue Devils faced, as they also took on No. 2 Ohio State, No. 9 Michigan and No. 11 Stanford. Although Duke finished fifth in the varsity four, varsity eight and second varsity eight against the entire field, the Blue Devils didn't let the last-place finishes overshadow their prior success.

"Normally we'll race unranked programs, but this year it's all ranked programs, which is exciting because it gives us the opportunity to race to a higher level," Kiritsy said. "Also, it gives you a better opportunity to be in the rankings."

Although the boats' trip out to the West Coast was underway more than a week in advance, the Blue Devils themselves were forced to make the cross-country trek in a much more efficient, jet lag-inducing manner.

"It was a kind of whirlwind of, maybe, 72 hours," Kiritsy said. "We left after classes Thursday at noon, got on a flight to Charlotte then Oregon, which was a long process. It was 14 hours of travel."

With the meet taking place so far away, the entire team was not able to make the trip. Only the top 24 of Duke's 43 rowers spent the weekend in Oregon. Despite the separation, Kiritsy said this didn't matter thanks to the Blue Devils' team-first attitude.

"We used to have this mantra that was, 'Any seat, any boat, any time,'" Kiritsy said. "That really encapsulates the mentality of taking less of a personal approach [and] thinking about as with more of a team decision that's being made."

The Blue Devils will have a two-week break from meets to rest their bodies and practice before getting back to the competition when they head to Clemson, S.C., for the Clemson Invite April 19.

"That's going to be a very big race for us," Kiritsy said. "It's all top-20 teams, top-10 teams, so we're really, really looking forward to that weekend."