April 17, 2011
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women's openweight rowing team finished competition at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold River, Calif., on Sunday by competing in three B Group finals and one grand final based on Saturday's results.
The No. 9 Badgers finished the two-day meet with 12 points and in a three-way tie atop the B Group thanks to wins in two races. With the varsity eight serving as the tie-break, the Badgers finished in third in the group.
"Things went pretty well today overall," said head coach Bebe Bryans. "The competition was awesome."
The varsity four raced to a victory in its final, beating out Notre Dame by six seconds. The Badgers' finishing time of 7:17.05 was only .15 second slower than California's time to win the A Group final.
The second varsity eight produced a similar result in its final, finishing the 2,000-meter course in 6:35.30. The Fighting Irish came in almost 10 seconds behind the Badgers in that race.
"Our (varsity four and second varsity eight) showed that they are competitive with the best crews in the country," said Bryans.
The closest race of the day was the varsity eight B Group final, which Wisconsin was a part of, as all three boats finished within 2.9 seconds of each other. In the end, the Badgers took third place with their time of 6:34.00, while Tennessee won the final in 6:31.10.
Despite the fact that the team is still trying to find the right combination for the best speed in UW's top boat, Bryans is remaining optimistic.
"The good news is that the lower boats are going really fast, so we have a lot (of people) to choose from," she explained. "It's just a matter of taking advantage of the time we're finally going to have (on the water) to put the right combinations together, so we're excited about that."
The novice rowers got their first taste of non-conference competition in the novice eight grand final. The Badgers took third place with their time of 6:50.15, a second and a half behind second place California. Oregon State won the final in 6:43.70.
"The novices did a great job of hanging in there with boats that have been on the water for a lot longer than they have," Bryans said. "It was a good experience for them."
Up next for Wisconsin is a Border Battle matchup with Minnesota on May 1 on Lake Mendota. The race is the first home event on Lake Mendota for the women's openweight program since Bryans became head coach of the Badgers in 2004.
Lake Natoma Invitational (Day 2)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Gold River, Calif.
2,000 meters
Varsity Eight B Group Final
1. Tennessee, 6:31.10; 2. Notre Dame, 6:33.00; 3. Wisconsin, 6:34.00
UW Lineup: Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Vanessa Kleiss, Briana Pittman, Lisa Godhardt, Kate Mansfield, Rachel Buchholtz, Rebekah Foelker
Second Varsity Eight B Group Final
1. Wisconsin, 6:35.30; 2. Notre Dame, 6:45.20; 3. Tennessee, 6:45.57
UW Lineup: Coxswain Jane Roberts, Lauren Pietila, Amy Slesar, Margaret Yale, Hanna Lynch, Caitlin Mueller, Katelyn Swanson, Kirsten Morelli, Hayley Leinss
Varsity Four B Group Final
1. Wisconsin, 7:17.05; 2. Notre Dame, 7:23.13; 3. Tennessee, 7:30.89
UW Lineup: Coxswain Clare Chandler, Katherine Hanes, Shannon Schlack, Shannon Hoffman, Mollie Kryka
Novice Eight Grand Final
1. Oregon State, 6:43.70; 2. California, 6:48.45; 3. Wisconsin, 6:50.15; 4. Stanford, 7:03.10
