University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, April 18
Sacramento, CA
10:30 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Big Ten Invitational
Players Mentioned
Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Novice
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Novice
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
/ Rowing
Novice
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Varsity
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Novice
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Varsity
/ Rowing
Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Novice
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Varsity
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Varsity
/ Rowing
Novice
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Varsity
/ Rowing
Varsity
/ Rowing
Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Varsity
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Novice
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Varsity
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Novice
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Photo by: David Kaplan
Gophers Close Busy Opening Day at Big Ten Invite
4/18/2026 9:00:00 PM | Rowing
3V4 picks up a race win for 'U'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The University of Minnesota rowing team wrapped up a full Saturday of racing by completing two sessions at the 2026 Big Ten Invitational, held at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center.
The Golden Gophers launched seven crews onto Lake Natoma, lining up against several of the nation's top programs, including eight teams ranked in the Pocock CRCA national poll and all 11 teams from the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota's strongest performance came from the Third Varsity Four, which delivered an 11-second victory in the second session.
The Maroon and Gold set the tone early in the regatta. The Second Varsity Four crew opened the day by finishing ahead of nationally-ranked Indiana, despite battling debris caught on the boat that slowed their pace over the final quarter of the race. The Hoosiers answered in the following race, edging the Gophers by half a second in the First Varsity Four. The order remained the same through the next two races as Minnesota placed third in both the Second Varsity Eight and First Varsity Eight.
In the final three races of the morning session, the Gophers took fourth in the Fourth Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight, with a third-place finish from the Third Varsity Four sandwiched between them. The teams then paused for a short lunch break before returning to the water later in the afternoon.
Minnesota's Third Varsity Four stood out in the second race of the second session, producing a dominant row to win by more than 11 seconds over Michigan State. The Gophers followed with two third-place finishes before the First Varsity Four secured a runner-up result over the 2,000-meter course. The Second Varsity Eight placed third, and the First Varsity Eight capped the day with another second-place finish.
Participating Teams
Big Ten Conference
No. 23 Indiana, Iowa, No. 17 Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 12 Rutgers, No. 20 UCLA, USC, No. 5 Washington, Wisconsin
Guest Invite
No. 9 Cal, Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Sacramento State, San Diego, No. 1 Stanford, Washington State
Minnesota Session 1 Results
2V4 - Flight 4
1. California - 7:16.430
2. Minnesota - 7:27.025
3. Indiana - 7:28.033
4. Washington State - 7:46.120
1V4 - Flight 4
1. California - 7:12.024
2. Indiana - 7:17.229
3. Minnesota - 7:17.996
4. Washington State - 7:26.424
2V8 - Flight 4
1. California - 6:24.677
2. Indiana - 6:36.622
3. Minnesota - 6:38.497
4. Washington State - 6:41.454
1V8 - Flight 4
1. California - 6:12.154
2. Indiana - 6:23.854
3. Minnesota - 6:26.631
4. Washington State - 6:39.899
4V8 - Flight 1
1. Washington - 6:38.258
2. UCLA - 6:44.320
3. Ohio State - 6:50.388
4. Minnesota - 7:07.423
5. Wisconsin - 7:10.740
6. Indiana - 7:17.995
3V4 - Flight 3
1. Rutgers - 7:19.788
2. UCLA - 7:22.576
3. Minnesota - 7:34.601
4. Ohio State - 7:38.941
5. San Diego - 8:02.178
3V8 - Flight 3
1. Rutgers - 6:43.711
2. Ohio State - 6:46.444
3. UCLA - 6:48.834
4. Minnesota - 7:06.031
Minnesota Session 2 Results
4V8 - Flight 1
1. Washington - 6:49.455
2. UCLA - 6:57.988
3. California - 6:59.395
4. Michigan - 7:02.870
5. Minnesota - 7:19.458
6. Wisconsin - 7:33.808
3V4 - Flight 3
1. Minnesota - 7:48.258
2. Michigan State - 7:59.321
3. Wisconsin - 8:02.498
4. San Diego - 8:14.503
3V8 - Flight 3
1. Ohio State - 6:52.859
2. USC - 7:01.839
3. Minnesota - 7:07.326
4. Wisconsin - 7:11.149
5. Michigan State - 7:20.711
2V4 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 7:24.667
2. Gonzaga - 7:29.497
3. Minnesota - 7:32.144
4. Sacramento State - 8:10.302
1V4 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 7:22.117
2. Minnesota - 7:29.697
3. Sacramento State - 7:57.617
4. Gonzaga - 9:34.297
2V8 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 6:37.132
2. Gonzaga - 6:43.679
3. Minnesota - 6:49.407
4. Sacramento State - 7:00.894
1V8 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 6:17.713
2. Minnesota - 6:28.943
3. Sacramento State - 6:36.340
4. Gonzaga - 6:37.515
Minnesota Lineup
1V8 - Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Sophia Pirigyi, Manon Field, Kimberly Klassen, Lexi Schimnowski, Alexa Mueller, Emilie Rish, Madeline Fincham, Nuala Macfarlane
2V8 - Radhika Ajmera (cox), Emily Franke, Alexa Fauson, Martyna Rzeznik, Paige Keller, Chloe Petersen, Emma Herstad, Eleni Charalampidou-Layton, Nena Papaterpou
3V8 - Katherine Bixby (cox), Mary Jane DeWeerdt, Audrey Zimmerman, Courtney Hislop, Madison Corn, Lexi Storey, Victoria Knoll, Sydney Loehrl, Maud Grobben
4V8 - Devon Torgerson (cox), Marina Filas, Sydney Leston, Julia Channell, Maggie Berrett, Gabby Pertzborn, Sara Pfeiffer, Kayla Pearce, Erika Schick
1V4 - Shelby Kaplan (cox), Danna Strohstack, Peyton Miller, McCall Motz, Kylie Mong
2V4 - Annika Maiorino (cox), Jaden Deutscher, Nathalie Müller, Caroline Johnson, Abby Schroeder
3V4 - Tammy Nguyen (cox), Ellison Northrop-Kiel, Josefine Freltoft, Viktoria Lapikof, Elsie Belina
Up Next
The Gophers close the trip to the West Coast on Sunday with the third and final session of the Big Ten Invitational. The first Minnesota boat is slated to start at 9:04 a.m. PT / 11:04 a.m. CT streaming live on B1G+.
The Golden Gophers launched seven crews onto Lake Natoma, lining up against several of the nation's top programs, including eight teams ranked in the Pocock CRCA national poll and all 11 teams from the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota's strongest performance came from the Third Varsity Four, which delivered an 11-second victory in the second session.
The Maroon and Gold set the tone early in the regatta. The Second Varsity Four crew opened the day by finishing ahead of nationally-ranked Indiana, despite battling debris caught on the boat that slowed their pace over the final quarter of the race. The Hoosiers answered in the following race, edging the Gophers by half a second in the First Varsity Four. The order remained the same through the next two races as Minnesota placed third in both the Second Varsity Eight and First Varsity Eight.
In the final three races of the morning session, the Gophers took fourth in the Fourth Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight, with a third-place finish from the Third Varsity Four sandwiched between them. The teams then paused for a short lunch break before returning to the water later in the afternoon.
Minnesota's Third Varsity Four stood out in the second race of the second session, producing a dominant row to win by more than 11 seconds over Michigan State. The Gophers followed with two third-place finishes before the First Varsity Four secured a runner-up result over the 2,000-meter course. The Second Varsity Eight placed third, and the First Varsity Eight capped the day with another second-place finish.
Participating Teams
Big Ten Conference
No. 23 Indiana, Iowa, No. 17 Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 12 Rutgers, No. 20 UCLA, USC, No. 5 Washington, Wisconsin
Guest Invite
No. 9 Cal, Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Sacramento State, San Diego, No. 1 Stanford, Washington State
Minnesota Session 1 Results
2V4 - Flight 4
1. California - 7:16.430
2. Minnesota - 7:27.025
3. Indiana - 7:28.033
4. Washington State - 7:46.120
1V4 - Flight 4
1. California - 7:12.024
2. Indiana - 7:17.229
3. Minnesota - 7:17.996
4. Washington State - 7:26.424
2V8 - Flight 4
1. California - 6:24.677
2. Indiana - 6:36.622
3. Minnesota - 6:38.497
4. Washington State - 6:41.454
1V8 - Flight 4
1. California - 6:12.154
2. Indiana - 6:23.854
3. Minnesota - 6:26.631
4. Washington State - 6:39.899
4V8 - Flight 1
1. Washington - 6:38.258
2. UCLA - 6:44.320
3. Ohio State - 6:50.388
4. Minnesota - 7:07.423
5. Wisconsin - 7:10.740
6. Indiana - 7:17.995
3V4 - Flight 3
1. Rutgers - 7:19.788
2. UCLA - 7:22.576
3. Minnesota - 7:34.601
4. Ohio State - 7:38.941
5. San Diego - 8:02.178
3V8 - Flight 3
1. Rutgers - 6:43.711
2. Ohio State - 6:46.444
3. UCLA - 6:48.834
4. Minnesota - 7:06.031
Minnesota Session 2 Results
4V8 - Flight 1
1. Washington - 6:49.455
2. UCLA - 6:57.988
3. California - 6:59.395
4. Michigan - 7:02.870
5. Minnesota - 7:19.458
6. Wisconsin - 7:33.808
3V4 - Flight 3
1. Minnesota - 7:48.258
2. Michigan State - 7:59.321
3. Wisconsin - 8:02.498
4. San Diego - 8:14.503
3V8 - Flight 3
1. Ohio State - 6:52.859
2. USC - 7:01.839
3. Minnesota - 7:07.326
4. Wisconsin - 7:11.149
5. Michigan State - 7:20.711
2V4 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 7:24.667
2. Gonzaga - 7:29.497
3. Minnesota - 7:32.144
4. Sacramento State - 8:10.302
1V4 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 7:22.117
2. Minnesota - 7:29.697
3. Sacramento State - 7:57.617
4. Gonzaga - 9:34.297
2V8 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 6:37.132
2. Gonzaga - 6:43.679
3. Minnesota - 6:49.407
4. Sacramento State - 7:00.894
1V8 - Flight 4
1. Ohio State - 6:17.713
2. Minnesota - 6:28.943
3. Sacramento State - 6:36.340
4. Gonzaga - 6:37.515
Minnesota Lineup
1V8 - Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Sophia Pirigyi, Manon Field, Kimberly Klassen, Lexi Schimnowski, Alexa Mueller, Emilie Rish, Madeline Fincham, Nuala Macfarlane
2V8 - Radhika Ajmera (cox), Emily Franke, Alexa Fauson, Martyna Rzeznik, Paige Keller, Chloe Petersen, Emma Herstad, Eleni Charalampidou-Layton, Nena Papaterpou
3V8 - Katherine Bixby (cox), Mary Jane DeWeerdt, Audrey Zimmerman, Courtney Hislop, Madison Corn, Lexi Storey, Victoria Knoll, Sydney Loehrl, Maud Grobben
4V8 - Devon Torgerson (cox), Marina Filas, Sydney Leston, Julia Channell, Maggie Berrett, Gabby Pertzborn, Sara Pfeiffer, Kayla Pearce, Erika Schick
1V4 - Shelby Kaplan (cox), Danna Strohstack, Peyton Miller, McCall Motz, Kylie Mong
2V4 - Annika Maiorino (cox), Jaden Deutscher, Nathalie Müller, Caroline Johnson, Abby Schroeder
3V4 - Tammy Nguyen (cox), Ellison Northrop-Kiel, Josefine Freltoft, Viktoria Lapikof, Elsie Belina
Up Next
The Gophers close the trip to the West Coast on Sunday with the third and final session of the Big Ten Invitational. The first Minnesota boat is slated to start at 9:04 a.m. PT / 11:04 a.m. CT streaming live on B1G+.
Head of the Mississippi Hype
Wednesday, October 08
Third Varsity Four Wins Again at B1G Invite
Monday, April 21
Second Novice Eight Wins at B1G Invite
Monday, April 21
First Varsity Four Wins at B1G Invite
Saturday, April 19