BARABOO, WIS. – No. 14 Rutgers rowing finished fourth overall with 107 points as a number of record-setting performances boosted the Scarlet Knights to their best finish at the Big Ten Championships in program history on Sunday, May 19 at Devil's Lake State Park. Rutgers also earned the program's first Big Ten medals with second and third place finishes in the second varsity four and third varsity four, respectively.
The Scarlet Knights had previously enjoyed their best finish at the conference championships
last season, the first year under head coach
Justin Price.
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"I'm really impressed with our team's performance today as I have been all season," said Price. "I think it's pretty clear that we have a motivated group that is moving in the right direction."
The second varsity four posted the highest finish for Rutgers on the day, placing runner-up to No. 5 Michigan. The Scarlet Knights took second with a time of 7:34.542, eclipsing its previous best finish (5th; 2018) in the event. In the third varsity four, the Scarlet Knights clocked a time of 7:40.355 to claim another podium finish and take third place in the race.
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The Scarlet Knights opened the day's racing with a fourth-place finish in the varsity eight, the team's highest showing ever in the race. The previous high for RU was a sixth-place finish last season. Rutgers posted a time of 6:28.472, just two seconds off the pace of No. 12 Iowa in third.
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The record performances continued for Rutgers throughout the conference championship with each of the following finishes improving upon the Scarlet Knights' showing in those races from a year ago.
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The Scarlet Knights placed sixth with a time of 6:43.569 in the second varsity eight and finished fifth in the varsity four with a time of 7:32.507. Rutgers recorded a pair of fifth-place finishes in the novice eight races with the novice eight recording a time of 6:48.671 to take fifth, while the second novice eight posted a time of 7:02.037 to place fifth it its race.
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For the third-straight year,
Sarah Johanek claimed First Team All-Big Ten honors, while
Ella Toa was named back-to-back Second Team All-Big Ten.
Olivia Maxton was the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
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The NCAA Championships will be held on Friday, May 31 at the Indianapolis Rowing Center in Indiana. Eleven conference champions will qualify for the championships, while 11 at-large team selections will complete the field. The selection show will be held on Tuesday, May 21 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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 Team |
 Points |
 No. 5 Michigan |
 186 |
 No. 6 Ohio State |
 171 |
 No. 11 Wisconsin |
 109 |
 No. 14 Rutgers |
 107 |
 No. 15 Indiana |
 98 |
 No. 12 Iowa |
 78 |
 Michigan State |
 67 |
 Minnesota |
 46 |
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Varsity 8
1. Michigan 6:22.012
2. Ohio State 6:24.504
3. Iowa 6:26.614
4. Rutgers 6:28.472
5. Wisconsin 6:31.934
6. Michigan State 6:35.124
7. Indiana 6:36.894
8. Minnesota 6:36.914
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Varsity 8 Lineup
Stroke:
Sarah Johanek
Femke Paulis
Ella Toa
Kathleen Butler
Elizabeth Kogan
Laura Hegemann
Meaghan Schneid
Bow:
Natalie Summerfelt
Coxswain:
Rucha Janodia
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Second Varsity 8
1. Michigan 6:30.479
2. Ohio State 6:35.079
3. Indiana 6:39.971
4. Wisconsin 6:42.287
5. Michigan State 6:42.497
6. Rutgers 6:43.569
7. Minnesota 6:43.871
8. Iowa 6:54.113
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Second Varsity 8 Lineup
Stroke:
Alexis Achenbach
Merve Pekdemir
Olivia Maxton
Olivia Betz
Bryanna Eichler
Sophia Catuogno
Mackenzie George
Bow:
Angelina Fomina
Coxswain:
Talya Ackerman
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Varsity 4
1. Ohio State 7:17.351
2. Michigan 7:19.003
3. Indiana 7:23.147
4. Wisconsin 7:28.423
5. Rutgers 7:32.507
6. Iowa 7:36.667
7. Minnesota 7:38.059
8. Michigan State 7:46.879
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Varsity 4 Lineup
Stroke:
Tanisha Franke
Mackenzie Evans
Emily Klysen
Bow:
Emily Meade
Coxswain:
Rachel Usen
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Second Varsity 4
1. Michigan 7:30.616
2. Rutgers 7:34.542
3. Ohio State 7:38.942
4. Indiana 7:40.900
5. Minnesota 7:42.318
6. Wisconsin 7:46.420
7. Michigan State 7:56.061
8. Iowa 8:01.275
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Second Varsity 4 Lineup
Stroke:
Grace Lewis
Julia Wilson
Allie Fontanese
Bow:
Tessa Catuogno
Coxswain:
Audrey O'Neill
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Third Varsity 4
1. Ohio State 7:27.837
2. Michigan 7:28.133
3. Rutgers 7:40.355
4. Wisconsin 7:47.467
5. Indiana 7:47.621
6. Iowa 8:00.471
7. Minnesota 8:15.611
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Third Varsity 4
Stroke:
Hannah Meade
Kara McDermott
Elisabeth Peters
Bow:
Julia Hendricks
Coxswain:
Emily O'Neill
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Novice 8
1. Michigan 6:37.253
2. Ohio State 6:40.677
3. Indiana 6:41.039
4. Wisconsin 6:46.351
5. Rutgers 6:48.672
6. Minnesota 6:55.135
7. Michigan State 7:04.233
8. Iowa 7:24.263
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Novice 8 Lineup
Stroke:
Madeline Agresti
Naischela Harris
Jordan Policari
Gabriele Bagdonas
Erin Miners
MaryKate McGee
Abby Gilbert
Bow:
Megan Biondi
Coxswain:
Lauren Kim
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Second Novice 8
1. Ohio State 6:50.423
2. Wisconsin 6:53.183
3. Michigan 6:58.407
4. Michigan State 7:01.529
5. Rutgers 7:02.037
6. Minnesota 7:16.513
7. Iowa 7:37.361
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Second Novice 8 Lineup
Stroke:
Olivia Ling
Emily Tarino
Zoe Toner
Hannah Davis
Elena Vargas
Lindsey Shugar
Ashley Adamo
Bow:
Melina Gurunian
Coxswain:
Lalitha Vallabhaneni
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