ITHACA, N.Y. - Two former Ithaca College student-athletes will compete for a spot to represent the USA in the Women's Rowing 1x at the Tokyo Olympics. Monday, February 22nd kicked off the five-day event of the USA Olympic Trials for Women's Rowing in Sarasota, Fla., where both IC alumnae Savannah Brija '18 M '20 and Karina Feitner '18 represented the program.

Monday's racing started with a 2K time trial to whittle the field of 35 down to 16. Brija advanced finishing 16th with a time of 7:29.89 and Feitner came in 26th with a time of 7:42.13.

"These are excellent performances for both women, who are competing at this level for the first time" women's crew & sculling head coach Becky Robinson '88 said.

Heats were held on Tuesday morning. Brija finished third in her heat of four, with a time of 8:25, one second ahead of fourth place and 10 seconds behind the winner. The top finisher of each heat advanced directly to the semifinals that will be contested on Thursday. Brija raced with the other finishers in the Repechage, second chanced race, on Wednesday morning. The repechage marked the final race for Brija, where she finished third with a time of 8:02.43.

Thursday and Friday semifinals and finals races will be streamed live through NBC Sports. All viewing information can be found on the USRowing website.

Brija initially came to Ithaca to play soccer and Feitner to play lacrosse, but both ended up starting their rowing careers instead. "Both women are tenacious competitors and have had the opportunity to push each other as undergrads and now stand together on the national scene," Robinson said.

Brija highlights her appreciation for the IC Crew team and the experiences it has gifted her with, "adapting, executing race plans, racing hard, being proud, giving more than I ever thought... I've learned so much and am so beyond thankful for every single moment."

IC is proud to be represented by such outstanding athletes and role models for all of the athletes currently competing to look up to, as well as for the future classes to come. We are sure to cheer on and support these two women as their rowing careers progress.