March 18, 2011
MADISON, Wis. - The No. 10 Wisconsin women's openweight rowing team showed no signs of slowing down despite being kept inside to train all winter unlike most of their competition at the Longhorn Invitational Friday.
The Badgers opened the spring portion of their season with wins in five of the six races contested during the first day of the meet, held on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. All of the wins came against Central Florida.
While head coach Bebe Bryans is impressed with the team's performance on their first day of competition since October, she knows that the team has the potential to improve.
"Today showed (that) we're off to a good start but have plenty of room for improvement and the potential for a lot more speed," she said.
Wisconsin started the session with a close loss in the second novice eights race against host Texas. The group, competing in their first collegiate race, finished in 8:19.4, just under eight seconds behind the Longhorns (8:11.5).
The first novice eight, meanwhile, won their race against Central Florida by finishing the course in 7:38.8, over 30 seconds ahead of the Knights (8:09.4).
"The novices did a great job at their first race," Bryans said. "They are at such a disadvantage with so little water time, (whereas) the more experienced kids know what's coming."
The varsity rowers showed off that experience Friday.
The Badgers first swept Central Florida in the varsity fours, beating the Knights by nine seconds in the first varsity fours race and by 20 seconds in the second.
The first varsity eight finished the course with the fastest time among all crews during the first session, clocking in at 7:14.4. Central Florida's varsity eight, meanwhile, finished with the fourth fastest time (7:27.2).
The second varsity eight provided the biggest margin of victory for the Badgers, who came in 23 seconds in front of the Knights in the race.
Despite having more training than their novice counterparts, some of the varsity rowers sat in different parts of the boat than they were used to, and Bryans is happy with how they adjusted.
"The stern pairs of both (varsity eights), the duos who set the rhythm and therefore the pace of the piece, are new to those positions, so today was a big day for them," she said.
The Wisconsin women's openweight rowing team returns to Lady Bird Lake Saturday for day two of the Longhorn Invitational. The Badgers face off against Oklahoma in the morning session and against Texas in the second session of the day.
Longhorn Invitational
March 18, 2011
Lady Bird Lake
Austin, Texas
2,000 meters
Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 7:14.4; 2. Central Florida, 7:27.2
UW Lineup: Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Vanessa Kleiss, Rachel Buchholtz, Lisa Godhardt, Katelyn Swanson, Caitlin Mueller, Rebekah Foelker, Anna Schettle
Second Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 7:32.2; 2. Central Florida, 7:55.1
UW Lineup: Coxswain Jane Roberts, Lauren Pietila, Amy Slesar, Briana Pittman, Hanna Lynch, Margaret Yale, Kate Mansfield, Kirsten Morelli, Hayley Leinss
Varsity Four
1. Wisconsin, 8:21.0; 2. Central Florida, 8:30.6
UW Lineup: Coxswain Clare Chandler, Alex Opitz, Sara Watermolen, Shannon Hoffman, Shannon Schlack
Second Varsity Four
1. Wisconsin, 8:23.8; 2. Central Florida, 8:42.9
UW Lineup: Coxswain Beth Swanson, Katherine Hanes, Brenna Van Maren, Julia Whittet, Mollie Kryka
Novice Eight
1. Wisconsin, 7:38.8; 2. Central Florida, 8:09.4
UW Lineup: Coxswain Elizabeth Parker, Kaitlin Dunn, Kelsey Wallner, Ciera Mead, Maggie Fitzgerald, Jena Wilder, Leah Gustafson, Monica Whitehouse, Cathy Randle
Second Novice Eight
1. Texas, 8:11.5; 2. Wisconsin, 8:19.4
UW Lineup: Coxswain Soley Pitre, Morgan Hormig, Kaitlyn Mayer, Sarah Tenpas, Sierra Fischer, Eleanore Kukla, Caelainn Donnellan, Bethany Rieth, Emma Allmann
