Duke rowing wrapped up head races at the annual Rivanna Romp, which head coach Adrian Spracklen called “a celebration of the fall season.”
The Blue Devils faced three opponents on the 4,000-meter course: traditional powerhouse Virginia, rival North Carolina and nonconference Minnesota. After hectic races at the Princeton Chase last weekend, Duke finally found its rhythm in the regatta’s smaller pool of talented competitors.
Varsity Eights took to the water first, allowing Duke’s 1V8 to start the morning with a third-place finish. The boat — manned by Audrey Kline, Chloe Zollman, Elizabeth May, Lena Mills, Fluorine Lijesen, Noelle Fuchs, Samantha Schalk, Vivienne Foley and Justine Medveckus — beat out North Carolina’s 1V8 for the bronze by a decisive eight seconds. Though Duke fell short of the Cavaliers’ 2V8 by only 0.8 seconds, the close race showed promise.
“We certainly closed the gap on Virginia this week as opposed to last week,” Spracklen said. “So that felt encouraging and more reflective of who we are as a program.”
The Blue Devils’ 2V8 also found itself in a narrow contest with the Cavaliers, edging 0.3 seconds ahead of the Virginia 3V8 to secure seventh place. Duke’s 3V8 and 4V8 went on to finish eighth and tenth, respectively, while its Novice Eight boat cruised to second place.
Varsity Four competition proved steeper. Only 0.5 seconds separated third-place Minnesota from fifth-place Duke, with Virginia slotting narrowly between them to steal fourth. The Cavaliers secured the top two finishes in the event, and Duke’s 2V4 and 4V4 finished fifth and sixth less than a second apart. The Blue Devils’ 3V4 rounded out the day’s races with a 12th-place finish.
“It was a culmination of all that we’ve been trying to improve upon and the goals we set at the beginning of the fall season,” Spracklen said. “From a mindset and a health standpoint, I think we are where we thought we’d be… we wanted to really just stay composed and test the changes we’ve made.”
Duke rowers now face a long break from competition, but their work is far from over. Having completed the fall’s longer time-trial regattas, they will turn their focus to the spring’s heat-style sprints — a shift that requires intense preparation.
“We’ve got to do the dirty miles,” Spracklen said. “It’s time to build on that foundation we’ve established, and that means long hours, sacrifice, a lot of pain and sweat. But the benefits and trade-off will be worth it.”
The Blue Devils, currently ranked fourth in their region of the NCAA, will hope to continue building on their positive momentum in the second half of the season.
“The camaraderie and the culture and the atmosphere on the team is outstanding,” Spracklen said. “We've got some outstanding leaders. We've got some phenomenal rowers and athletes… and I’m very excited about the future.”
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Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.