The No. 10 Washington State women’s rowing team went up against the best of the best at the Clemson Invite on Lake Hartwell, and proved their worth. The Cougars won four races and placed second in six races this weekend at the two-day regatta.

Up bright and early Saturday, at 5 a.m. EST, WSU won four-consecutive races. The Cougar varsity eight got the momentum going right from the beginning, winning their race with a time of 6:30.0, crossing the line 1.1 seconds before No. 14 Texas. The two programs continued to race closely with each other throughout the morning.

The Cougars’ second varsity eight and varsity four finished 1-2 with Texas’ boats, with times of 6:44.5 to 6:45.0 and 7:29.5 to 7:31.0, respectively. WSU closed out its morning races with a win in the third varsity eight boat, with a time of 6:59.0.

The Cougars’ winning ways did not carry into the afternoon races, but they still found success. WSU’s varsity eight finished seven seconds behind No. 1 Ohio State in the first race of the afternoon, with a time of 6:28.8. The second varsity eight boat had the closest finish of the day, finishing .3 seconds behind the Buckeyes with a time of 6:32.8. WSU’s third varsity eight closed out Saturday with a fourth place finish in the final race, with a time of 6:53.9.

Virginia became the Cougars’ main opponent Sunday with three consecutive 1-2 finishes, with the Cavaliers winning all three races. The varsity eight boat finished less than two seconds behind UVA in the first race, with a time of 6:29.6.

The next two races involved the second varsity eight and varsity four, and weren’t as close. UVA won the second varsity eight race with a time of 6:35.1 to the Cougars’ 6:40.0 and widened the margin in the varsity four race with a time of 7:13.1 to WSU’s 7:20.6.

The Cougar third varsity eight finished third with a time of 6:55.1 to conclude the race weekend. Head Coach Jane LaRiviere was happy with the Cougars’ overall performance this weekend in South Carolina.

“We had a great weekend of racing here at Clemson,” LaRiviere said Sunday in a press release.

Washington State will take next weekend off before racing again May 2, when they will travel to Lowell, Oregon to face No.18 Oregon State.

Reporting by Lars Hanson