YPSILANTI, MICH. - The High Point University women's rowing team concluded its inaugural season after competing in the Ford Lake Invite hosted by Eastern Michigan University. 

Head Coach Jessica Deitrick: "What a year it has been! This team has made a lot of progress in a short time and that was evident today. Our 1v8 and 1v4 made it to the A final by finishing third in their heats. The 2v8 raced hard and missed the A final and were set to race in the B final later in the afternoon. The conditions progressively got worse throughout the day, during the 1v8 race they unfortunately caught a boat stopping crab which caused them to fall behind the pack in the final. The 1v4 struggled to handle the conditions in the final but raced as hard as they could. The rest of the team was a bit disappointed that they didn't get the opportunity to go back out and finish their season, however we can't control the weather. Now we will turn our focus onto finishing the semester in a strong academic standing and getting excited for our summer training so we can continue our growth as a new program!"

Due to inclement weather, the day was cut short but High Point still had some boats on the water as two HPU boats made it to the A finals.

The 1v8 boat for HPU which saw Arianna Ording at coxswain, followed by Mallory Sullivan, Kate Concepcion, Saige Wiggins, Anna Venditti, Audrey Houle, Riley Verner, Josie Ganshaw, Willow Conley placed third in its first race to qualify for the A finals. 

The 1v4 boat also qualified for the A finals with a third place finish in heat one. Carolyn Fox led her boat at coxswain followed by Caroline Marchis, Aliyah Strickland, Lilly Fowler, and Morgan Bowdish. 

High Point's 2v8 boat finished fourth in heat one to miss the cut by one spot for the A finals, but qualified for the B finals. In that boat was Grayson Williams at coxswain, followed by Caitlin Enright, Gianna Ward, Sarah Harvey, Alison Sims, Emma Spencer, Genevieve Alexander, Casey Derrenbacher, and Madelyn Cummings. 

In the harsh conditions on Ford Lake, the 1v8 placed sixth in their final race of the season as did the 1v4. Unfortunately none of the other HPU boats were able to complete its season on the water. 

High Point has completed its inaugural season on the water as coach Deitrick and staff look to add speed and grow its program as they look forward to competing in the 2025-26 athletic year.