On Saturday, the Irish took to the water at Walter E. Long Lake in Austin, Texas, competing in the Longhorn Invitational. The field boasted some top competition, headlined by host No. 8 Texas and No. 14 Duke. The field was also made up of Central Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon State and San Diego.
Notre Dame put forward four boats to race in eight races: the first Varsity Eight, second Varsity Eight, first Varsity Four and second Varsity Four.
The morning session produced two second place finishes for the second Varsity Eight and second Varsity Four and two third places for the first Varsity Eight and first Varsity Four. The second Varsity Eight (6:32.698) fell to a boat from Texas by just shy of 10 seconds, and the second Varsity Four (7:18.275) faced a similar defeat at the hands of the Longhorns.
The afternoon session brought Notre Dame the highlight of its competition, a first place victory by the second Varsity Eight lead by senior coxswain Samantha Hedrick. The Irish boat (6:31.363) defeated an Oklahoma boat by just over a second. Notre Dame also added three more third place finishes in the afternoon.
The Irish next travel to Sacramento for the Lake Natoma Invitational, which will take place April 8 and 9.
