Openweights Release 2003-04 Rowing Schedule
June 10, 2003 | Women's Rowing
Head coach Maren LaLiberty announced the 2003'04 Wisconsin women's openweight rowing schedule on Tuesday.
The Badgers open the fall season with the third annual Milwaukee River Challenge on Saturday Sept. 20. The unique regatta takes place on over 4.4 miles on the Milwaukee River. Teams race through the heart of downtown Milwaukee for 2.2 miles before turning around and racing back to the start.
The Badgers will also race at three head races in the fall including the prestigious Head of the Charles. Billed as the world's largest two-day rowing event, the Head of the Charles was first raced in 1965 in Boston. The event runs Oct. 18 and 19 this year. Wisconsin will also race at the Head of the Rock on Oct. 12 in Rockford, Ill., and at the Head of the Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa on Oct. 26.
The UW may add one or two more fall events, including the possibility of conducting a UW Rowing Alumni Regatta in Madison.
Wisconsin opens the spring racing season on March 20 with dual racing against Columbia and Central Florida in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Traditional racing at the San Diego Crew Classic, April 3-4, follows. The UW openweights have raced at the Classic each year since 1984, save a two-year absence that included the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
The openweights are expected to make their first appearance at the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J. on April 10-11. The regatta has been a recent destination for the women's lightweight crew, but the openweights will now join their compatriots in the Cooper River for the event.
Wisconsin competes in what amounts to a mini Big Ten Championship on April 17 when Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin join Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., for racing. The race sits two weeks before the fifth annual Big Ten Championship on May 1. The Hawkeyes host the Conference event for the first time.
The lone home event of the spring is the 32nd Midwest Rowing Championships, held on Lake Wingra. Wisconsin takes on teams from the Midwest on the 1,850-meter course along the Vilas Park shores.
Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, marks the Central Regional Regatta. The Badgers and the remaining NCAA central region teams make their final impressions to the NCAA selection committee with the event in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
