OKLAHOMA CITY – In the final race of the weekend, Alabama Rowing grabbed its first gold medal of the season in the Women's Open 2-. Sophomore Cori Guay and junior Rebekah Stewart finished 25 seconds ahead of the second-placed pair with a time of 16:43.60.

"It was yet another solid race where we were able to gain some valuable experience on the race course," UA head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "Cori and Rebekah had a great race."

Of the eight Crimson Tide pairs that rolled out, two finished in the top-five and six finished within the top-25. Seniors Raien Emery and Tressa Vitus rounded out the top-five for Alabama with a fifth-place finish of 17:35.36.

The Tide opened its 2018-19 campaign yesterday with four top-10 finishes across two events. Both races were down-to-the-wire as Alabama missed out on bronze medals by a combined five seconds across both events.

"Overall, we are really proud of the way the athletes competed and handled themselves this weekend," Putyrae said. "They represented themselves and their teammates very well."

The Tide will be back in action in November for the Head of the Hooch in what will be the final competition of the fall season.

For the most up-to-date information on the team, follow Alabama rowing via AlabamaRow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.