TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Rowing team opened its spring season by winning four of the five races against Eastern Michigan and Southern Methodist at Manderson Landing Saturday morning.

The Crimson Tide got things started with a sweep of the 3V8+/4V8+, with the 3V8 boat earning the first-place spot. In the 2V4+, Alabama cruised to an easy win, finishing over 15 seconds ahead of SMU. In the closest race of the morning, the Tide and SMU battled it out down the stretch in the 1V4+, but ultimately Alabama gained the advantage to claim the third victory of the day. In the final two races, Alabama's 2V8+ boat came out on top against both opponents, while the 1V8+ grabbed second place, falling to the Mustangs in the final race.

The current was 19,000 CFS and there was slight to no wind throughout the races.

From Head Coach Glenn Putyrae

"Overall, it was a great day. The weather was perfect, the crowd was awesome, we had great announcing and great racing in general. It wasn't a perfect day. The athletes have faced a lot of adversity this week, whether its current or lineup adjustments due to injuries, illness, and unfortunately the one boat that we thought was the most dependable turned out to be the least dependable of them all. We've got some work to do and we knew that going into today."

Results

3V8+/4V8+

Alabama 3V8+ (7:49.7) 2. Alabama 4V8+ (8:05.8) 3. EMU 3V8+ (DNF)

2V4+

Alabama (8:28.4) SMU (8:42.7)

1V4+

Alabama (8:24.3) SMU (8:27.7) EMU (9:16.6)

2V8+

Alabama (7:32.0) SMU (7:39.7) EMU (8:11.1)

1V8+

SMU (7:19.5) Alabama (7:31.6) EMU (7:43.3)

Up Next

The Crimson Tide will be back in action Mar. 14-15 at the Cardinal Invitational in Oakridge, Tenn. The second and final home race will be held on Saturday, Mar. 21 at 9 a.m. against conference-rival Tennessee.

For the most up-to-date information on the team, follow Alabama Rowing via @AlabamaRow on Twitter, Instagram and Alabama Rowing on Facebook. General athletic news can be found at @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.