MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's rowing team rowed to a third-place finish in both final races at the San Diego Crew Classic this Sunday afternoon.

The varsity eight took third in the Jessop-Whittier Cup to claim its best finish at the Crew Classic since the team took second in 1996. The No. 15 Badgers finished behind No. 6 Michigan and No. 4 Washington in 6:47.24.

"We raced really well today," head coach Bebe Bryans stated after the race. "It was a big step up and we were pretty satisfied with the way we accomplished what we had set up to do, so it's a definite step in the right direction."

The second varsity eight boat also placed third behind Washington and Michigan in the race for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy. UW finished in 7:04.71 to claim third.

"We look forward to getting back home and training a little bit more and getting on with racing," Bryans concluded. "We're ready to get back into our routine, get work done and get back to racing."

Wisconsin will battle Big Ten rivals No. 6 Michigan and No. 5 Michigan State next weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich.