AUSTIN, Texas Winter training and preparation has proven to be very successful as the Kansas State women’s rowing team dominated the six-team dual race on the first and second days of the Longhorn Invitational held Friday and Saturday on Austin’s Town Lake.

Both the Novice Four and First Novice Eight squads swept the competition with victories over No. 8 Wisconsin, Duke and Miami. Coxswain Ashley Krueger teamed up with Amber Mulyck, Michael Knoll, Julia Roque and Elisabeth Stewart, to lead the Wildcats to a winning-time of 8:15.69 against the nationally-ranked Badgers and 8:00.40 against the Hurricanes in the Novice Four races.

The First Novice Eight squad continued their fall success into the team’s spring season opener by overpowering the Duke (7:07.87) and Miami (7:04.90) crews by several boat lengths in their respective races. The 1N8+ crew was comprised of coxswain Anna Wagner, Heather Gerstner, Whitney Revell, Kari Chadd, Elise Ann Vander Putten, Kate Priest, Carlee Parke, Jayme File and Michelle Higgins.

K-State also claimed an additional victory at three-day event with the Second Varsity Eight squad defeating the Blue Devils with a winning-time of 6:57.41. The First Varsity Eight put forth a great effort, but came up short by a couple of strokes in head-to-head competition with Duke, Wisconsin and Miami.

“Wisconsin is a top 10 team, but with the crews from Duke, Miami, Texas and Iowa, we are starting to get competitive with them now and it is really encouraging,” Kansas State head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “All of these crews have already raced this spring, so I’m very pleased with where we are against those teams in our first race of the season. We are looking good and all the races have been close. It (the wins over the last two days) has filled our athletes with more confidence and it’s always a good way to start the season off.”

The Wildcats wrap-up competition tomorrow with four races scheduled against Big Ten Conference power Iowa beginning at 9:20 a.m. Iowa and Duke are both receiving votes in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll. Complete race results from the Longhorn Invitational can be accessed at: www.TexasSports.com.