Rowing Hosting Senior Day Regatta Against Dayton Saturday

Rowing vs. Dayton
Date	Saturday, May 3 \| 10:30 a.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| EMU Rowing Course at Ford Lake (Spectators: 9075 S Huron River Dr.)
Results	Results
Preview Video	Click to watch!
Twitter	@EMURowing \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University rowing team hosts the University of Dayton Saturday, May 3, at 10:30 a.m. at the EMU Rowing Course at Ford Lake.

A Senior Day recognition ceremony will follow the regatta.

Spectators should head to Ford Lake Park (9075 S Huron River Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48198) and be prepared for a $10 parking charge.

The race schedule will feature a 1V8+ race at 10:40 a.m., a 2V8+ race at 11 a.m., and a 1V4+ race at 11:20 a.m.

There will be a QR code on-site to follow official results but fans looking to follow the meet can do so via the results sheet linked here.

FORD LAKE CUP RECAP: In the largest regatta in Ford Lake history, the Eastern's 1V8+ posted the team's top time since 2019 as the Eagles battled seven other schools in the inaugural Ford Lake Cup at the EMU Rowing Course at Ford Lake Saturday, April 26, on a cold, windy day that resulted in the day's final five races being canceled.

Eastern finished tied for fourth as the University of Delaware won the regatta.

Eastern's 1V8+ glided to a blistering 6:37.3 in the heat race before its 6:54.1 in the Grand Final yielded a fifth-place showing. The 6:37.3 effort marked EMU's best mark since April 28, 2019, when the Green and White won the J. Clark Wray Cup Race in 6:17.7.

The Eagles' 2V8+ won its heat race in 6:53.7 before taking third in the Grand Final in 6:59.9.

The 1V4+ rounded out Eastern's boats in 8:08.4 as the high winds forced the cancellation of the 2V4+ race, 3V8+ race, 1V8+ Petite Final, 2V8+ Petite Final, and 1V4+ Petite Final.

MICHIGAN STATE RECAP: Eastern's 1V8+ highlighted EMU's races, nearly breaking seven minutes on the 2,000-meter course, crossing in 7:00.1, April 5.

The Eagles' 2V8+ finished in 7:18.9, giving the visiting Big Ten Conference Spartans its closest race of the day as MSU crossed in 6:56.1.

EMU's 3V8+ finished in 7:49.6, the best time by an Eagle 3V8+ since a 7:26.968 showing May 15, 2022, at the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championships.

The 1V4+ also provided the Spartans with competition as Eastern was less than eight seconds shy of Michigan State's 2V4+. EMU clocked in at 8:05.2, its best 1V4+ mark since finishing in 7:46.621 at the CAA Championships, May 15, 2022.

DOC HOSEA RECAP: EMU competed at the Doc Hosea Invitational on the Cooper River Saturday, March 29.

Eastern's 1V8+ qualified for the Grand Final to highlight the Eagles' efforts, which also included 2V8+ and 1V4+ boats also racing.

The 1V8+ used a 6:41.212 finish in the heat race, placing ahead of CAA foe Temple University en route to qualifying for the Grand Final.

EMU's 2V8+ fell short of the Grand Final as the Eagles placed fifth in the heat race in 7:04.345 while the 1V4+ took third place in the Petite Final (8:07.421) after improving on its heat time (8:10.143).

The Eagles gained valuable experience on the Cooper River as EMU will return to the same venue for the CAA Championships, May 16-17.

SAVAGE AND WILHELM AT WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS: Head Coach Kemp Savage and student-athlete Lily Wilhelm led the United States women's eights boat to the gold medal at the World University Championships, July 3-6, at Willem-Alexander Baan. Savage was Head Coach while Wilhelm rowed in seat three as the American V8 rowed 6:21.64, .67 faster than Italy's 6:22.31, to receive gold in a tight competition. Canada received bronze at 6:25.78.

"Winning is hard to put into words," Savage said. "They raced so maturely and even though for a lot of them it was their first international competition, they just went out and rowed." The Americans used July 4's heat race to advance to July 6's final, avoiding having to exert themselves in a race setting as they surpassed a potential heat race July 5 by having the top heat time. "I did not know we won until we literally crossed the finish line," Wilhelm said. "I was happy to even go and have the opportunity, but to win was just so exciting."

After training on Ford Lake from June 5-30, American student-athletes headed to Rotterdam, Netherlands, to compete July 3-6 against student-athletes from around the globe in the World University Championships at Willem-Alexander Baan, which opened in 2012 and hosted the 2016 World Championships.

ASSISTANT COACH LUCIE ROY: Head Coach Kemp Savage announced Lucie Roy as an Assistant Coach in the fall as she previously served in a volunteer role. Savage, Roy, and Assistant Coach Delaney McGuire and Volunteer Assistant Coaches Haley Dutton and Kellie Savage make up the program's 2024-25 coaching staff.

Roy comes to Eastern after spending the last two seasons as the Head Men's and Women's Rowing Coach at Adrian College.

Roy excelled as a rower at Michigan State University in her three years on the varsity squad, stroking the 1V4+ to a fourth-place effort at the B1G Championships in 2022, the Spartans' highest finish in an NCAA-qualifying event since 2017.

CHARGING TOWARD THE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Eastern Michigan University rowing team secured a trio of top-five finishes in Saturday's Grand Finals at the CAA championships last season, May 17-18, at Cooper River Park as Reagan Fazekas was honored as All-CAA. This year's CAA Championships are scheduled for May 16-17.

MAC ROWING IS COMING: The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced Thursday, July 18, an addition to its sports lineup as women's rowing will be added beginning with the 2025-26 academic year, increasing the MAC's sponsored championships 23 (13 women / 10 men). With the addition, the MAC will sponsor the third most sports of any FBS Conference (ACC 28, Big Ten 28, Big 12 Conference 23).

The MAC will begin the 2025-26 academic year with six programs competing in women's rowing as Eastern Michigan, Toledo and UMass will be joined by new affiliate members Delaware, High Point and Temple.

The addition of women's rowing as a spring sponsored sport continues to enhance the MAC's stature as one of the leading Division I Conferences in the nation. The first MAC Championship will be held in the spring of 2026, while the Conference plans to host an Invitational event in the spring of 2025. The MAC Championships will be hosted by Eastern Michigan at Lakeside Park on Ford Lake for at least the first three seasons.

EAGLES IN THE CLASSROOM: A total of 18 Eastern Michigan University rowing student-athletes were named Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar-Athletes, the association announced Thursday, June 6.

EMU's honorees for the 2024 season were seniors Laura Borchers, Olivia Bray, Reagan Fazekas, Megan Fowler (Belleville, Mich./Belleville), Jessica LaRoy, Christina Lin, Anna Old, juniors Kat Childs (Hanover, Mich./Hanover-Horton), Olivia Hansen (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Skyline), Kaycee Johnson (Artesia, N.M./ Artesia), Carly Summers (Novi, Mich./Novi), Lily Wilhelm (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville (Butler)), and Emma Wyss (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg), sophomores Delani Fisher (Ellettsville, Ind./Bloomington North), Julia Maxwell (Romulus, Mich./Romulus), Ella Warrick (Livonia, Mich./Franklin), and Abigail Zola (Grand Forks, N.D./Red River), and graduate student Chloe Hinojosa (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee).

ERG ROOM: Eastern Michigan unveiled a newly renovated erg room inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center during the 2022-23 academic year, making the 2023-24 offseason the first in which EMU was able to utilize the room for the entire offseason. Eagle rowers now have access to usable training space that is three times larger than the old space. Additionally, the room can now fit more than 70 ergs and 20 stationary bikes.

CRIMSON TIDE TRADITION: The Eagles have spent their spring break in Tuscaloosa, Ala., 11 times in the last 13 seasons. The only two seasons in which the Green and White did not face off against Alabama were in 2020 (COVID-19 Pandemic) and 2015.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan competes in the CAA Championships for the final time as the MAC will sponsor rowing for the first time in the 2025-26 academic year. The Eagles will face their CAA foes May 16-17 at the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.

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Players Mentioned

Laura Borchers

Olivia Bray

Kat Childs

Reagan Fazekas

Delani Fisher

Megan Fowler

Olivia Hansen

Chloe Hinojosa

Kaycee Johnson

Jessica LaRoy

Christina Lin

Julia Maxwell

Anna Old

Carly Summers

Ella Warrick

Lily Wilhelm

Emma Wyss

Abigail Zola

Eastern Michigan Athletics