Badgers Finish Second at Big Tens
May 03, 2008 | Women's Rowing
The University of Wisconsin women's rowing team placed second overall at the 2008 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, May 3. The Badgers were seeded fifth in the varsity eight, fourth in the second varsity eight, third in the varsity four, and first in the second varsity four.
The No. 6 Michigan State Spartans won the overall team championship with 150 points after tallying first-place finishes from its first varsity eight, first varsity four and second varsity four. The next three spots went to the Wisconsin Badgers (114 points), No. 14 Ohio State (112) and No. 16 Minnesota (104), while Iowa (40) and Indiana (31) took sixth and seventh, respectively.
Head coach Bebe Bryans was very pleased with her team's performance at the conference championships, held on Belleville Lake.
'We had a really great day today,' said Bryans. 'We expected to race well, and we certainly met our expectations. We tied our best finish ever at Big Tens with a second place finish. Pretty much every boat stepped up. It sounds cliche, but today it was the truth. Every boat understood the concept of the team. They finished as high as they could, not only for themselves but for the team. It really helped everyone out.'
The first varsity eight finished third in their heat of the preliminaries with a time of 6:29.20. With a 6:35.70 finish, the second varsity eight took first in their heat to advance to the afternoon finals. The first and second varsity fours also took first in their morning preliminary races.
In the afternoon finals, the second varsity eight took first overall with a time of 6:46.40. The UW boat, including coxswain Molly Ejven, Shayla Dvorak, Ahna Olson, Nichole Trumper, Grace Latz, Meryl Chaffee, Katie Helmrick, Meghan Roh and Katie Hurtis, topped OSU (6:47.39) by under a second.
The Badgers placed second in the second varsity four (7:54.51), falling to Michigan State, but cruising past Minnesota and Michigan. The UW finished fourth in the first varsity four with a time of 7:35.08. Wisconsin's first and second novice eight boats earned first-place finishes in their respective races, helping the Badgers to a number two finish overall.
Additionally, Denise Kragness (Colfax, Wis.) was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, while Theresa Shields (Grosse Ile, Mich.) was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten and Meghan Roh (Tomah, Wis.) was honored with one of seven Big Ten Sportsmanship awards.
'The varsity eight was little disappointed not to make finals, but they really raced well today,' said Bryans. 'They made some huge strides, showing a big difference today in the way they raced today versus what they have done in the past. It was a great effort, a turning point for them. Even though they didn't make the finals they were very happy with their time.
'We are pleased. We are proud. The team represented Wisconsin very well today and we're looking forward to doing it again soon.'
The Badgers will compete again on May 17-18 and the NCAA Central/South Sprints, held in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Region Sprints serve as the primary qualifying races for the NCAA Championships, held on May 30-June 1, in Sacramento, Calif. Check UWBADGERS.COM for more information in the coming weeks.
