The SMU rowing teams had a great showing at the SIRA Championships this weekend posting strong times and top finishes against formidable opponents.

The first varsity eight started slow in their heat on Saturday morning, finishing fifth with a time of 7:01.45 to advance to the rep later on in the afternoon. They picked it up though, and improved their time to take third at the rep, coming in at 6:42.36. Their finish advanced them to the Petite finals, which took place Sunday.

The second varsity eight was equally impressive in their start and even more impressive in their finish. They took third in the heat at 6:57.54 to advance to the Petite finals.

“I’m pleased with all of our crews’ significant improvement with regard to times,” head coach Doug Wright said in an interview with smumustangs.com.

In the Petite finals, the Mustangs’ first varsity eight was just three-tenths of a second away from a first place finish. They were forced to settle for second with a final time of 7:02.90, while first place went to Kansas State with a final time of 7:02.60.

The second varsity eight was determined to do even better and succeeded, capturing first place with a time more than 13 seconds ahead  of second place Jacksonville. Their final time was 7:28.80.

Coach Wright was pleased with his team’s performance, especially because of the ramifications.

“We have, in the past, shown much improvement in speed between the SIRA Regatta and the conference championships,” he said.

The Mustangs’ next competition, the South/Central NCAA Regional Qualifier is May 15-16. The race will be held in Oak Ridge, Tenn.