University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Oklahoma City
All Day
University of Oklahoma

vs

OU Invitational
OU Battles Weather, Competition at OU Invite
March 09, 2013 | Rowing
![]() |
||
| ||
|
On the first day of the fourth-annual OU Invite, the Sooners won nine of their 14 races to open the 2013 campaign.
Six teams battled heavy winds in the morning races and were rewarded with near-ideal conditions in the afternoon session. Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Tulsa and UCO joined OU and competed in a total of 32 races. The competition continues tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. for the final of three sessions.
In the morning group of races, a light rain subsided early and gave way to heavy winds of up to 20 miles per hour. The mix between a crosswind and headwind made racing difficult.
A thunderstorm interrupted the afternoon racing by nearly two hours, but after the competition resumed, the conditions were calm and led to the fastest times of the day.
"I think we raced well as a team," head coach Leeanne Crain said. "As a team as a whole, we had some solid results. Tulsa is a very good program, and Minnesota, out of the Big Ten, is one of the strongest teams in the country. Although we didn't pull off wins in the varsity eights against them, we stayed competitive. I think we had some really good results and I'm proud of how the team carried themselves on the first day of competition."
The Sooners won five of their seven races in the morning session against Tulsa, UCO and Kansas State. After falling in its first two races, OU beat Tulsa in the final five races of the morning.
Oklahoma won the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity four races against Tulsa and its second novice eight races against Big 12 rival Kansas.
In the novice four race, the Sooners finished second to UCO and ahead of Kansas State, while Oklahoma's novice eight finished second to Tulsa's third varsity eight.
In the afternoon, the Sooners faced Minnesota. One of the nation's best teams, the Golden Gophers have consistently been ranked among the nation's best.
Oklahoma won both the varsity four and second varsity four races, while Minnesota prevailed in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight and second novice eight.
In both varsity eights contests, OU was competitive with UM for the majority of the race before the Gophers pulled ahead in the final stretch of the race.
OU and Minnesota both finished the day with nine victories, though the Gophers had two fewer losses. Kansas won seven races, while Tulsa won four and Kansas State and UCO each one twice.
The Sooners return to the Oklahoma River Sunday for the final session of the OU Invitational. Updates, live results and more from Sunday's races can be found on the OU Invitational Headquarters page. Sunday's finale will be broadcast live online on SoonerSports.tv.
For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners, follow them on Twitter at @SoonerRowing and Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_Rowing.
![]() |
OU Lineups |

Players Mentioned
Highlights: Big 12 Championship
Sunday, May 14
Highlights: Rowing Big 12 Championship
Sunday, May 15
Sooners Take 4th at Big 12 Championship
Saturday, May 15
My Inspiration: Cameron Guild
Wednesday, February 03