In a stellar opening performance, the MSU women’s rowing team cruised to victory against Rutgers and Boston, two strong squads going into yesterday’s contest.

Michigan State only raced three teams (varsity eight, second varsity eight and novice eight) due to the lack of four man squads for Rutgers.

The Spartans won all three races by ten seconds or more and carried the momentum throughout the entire day. Varsity eight finished with 7:01.1, second varsity eight finished with 7:11.4, followed by another MSU boat comprised of the two varsity four teams with 7:23.1.

Finally, novice eight finished with a dominating time of 7:31.2 ahead of Rutgers with 7:59.1.

Next up, the Spartans face off against No. 5 Princeton and No. 9 Brown, and with a good showing against the Ivy Leaguers, they can expect to have a strong national ranking before the week is out.

Jason Ruff is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: Michigan State University Women’s Rowing