Senior Leadership is Key to Openweight Success
May 10, 2005 | Women's Rowing
Coming off their trip to the 2004 NCAA Championships, the openweight varsity rowing team is looking to their seniors for leadership and guidance as they enter the stretch of this season in order to make it two in a row.
With 10 seniors on the team, the Badger women have the tools to get the job done. Between the 10 women, they have 19 years of varsity eight, second varsity eight or varsity four rowing experience to work with. Five seniors have three or more years, while the other five are either in their first or second years in the top boats.
Anchoring the team this year is Nikki Lennart (Milwaukee, Wis.), with four years of varsity racing on her resume. Lennart has raced in the Big Tens each of the last three years, and has been apart of the varsity eight boat since she was a sophomore. In her first year, she was a member of the varsity four which gives her experience in the different sized boats. Lennart has also received numerous awards, including 2005 All-Big Ten First Team, 2004 CRCA All Central Region team, 2004 All-Big Ten Second Team and Big Ten Boat of the Week in 2002 with the varsity four.
'Even though we were pretty impressive last year, we are always looking to do better,' said Lennart. 'I'm pretty quiet, so I feel as though I lead by example. I go out and work hard everyday to help influence the rest of the team to do the same.'
Seniors right behind Lennart with three years on varsity are Shannon Gedman (Waukesha, Wis.), Malika McCormick (Madison, Wis.), Julie Quoss (Naperville, Ill.) and Beth Redfearn (Chicago, Ill). Gedman, who had an older sister Tara row for the Badgers, was a 2004 Academic All-Big Ten selection to go along with being a part of the NCAA varsity eight at last year's championship.
'I try to keep the team motivated as a senior leader, ' said Gedman. 'With such a long season you need to keep a positive attitude, and I feel as that I help the team with that.'
Right next to Gedman all last year, McCormick has also been an integral part of this class of rowers. She was also a 2004 Academic All-Big Ten as well as being on the Dean's List. In her freshmen and sophomore years, McCormick rowed in both the fours and eights, but now solely rows in the varsity four for the second-straight year.
Along with McCormick and Gedman, Julie Quoss is in her third year on varsity. Last year, she was awarded CRCA All-Central Region Team and has been an Academic All-Big Ten selection the past two years. Quoss has been rowing in the eights since she was a freshman, starting on the novice squad and moving her way up to the varsity in her sophomore year.
Redfearn is in her second year on the varsity eight and also has a year of experience in the second varsity eight her sophomore year. She was a 2004 Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a part of the 2004 NCAA varsity eight boat that placed 16th at the finals.
Rounding out this year's senior class is Leah Gordon (Wausau, Wis.), who boasts a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, Colleen Gosa (Kewaskum, Wis.), this year's winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for rowing, Alissa Miller (San Diego, Calif.), Jenny McSherry (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jenny Tuffree (Middleton, Wis.). Tuffree was a part of the UW's second varsity eight at the 2004 NCAA Rowing Championships.
With all 10 women helping to lead this team into the final stretch of the season, the openweights have their goals set high to perform their best at the NCAA championship. They take the next step this weekend at the NCAA Central/South Regional Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
