April 2, 2011
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 15 Wisconsin women's openweight rowing team qualified for the finals in two different events at the San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday. The varsity eight is competing for the Jessop-Whittier Cup this weekend, while the second varsity eight is racing for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy.
To move on to the finals in the events, the Badgers had to place among the top three in their varsity eight heat and the top two in their second varsity eight heat, and both squads did just that.
The varsity eight finished third in their preliminary heat against five other collegiate crews, including two higher-ranked opponents. No. 4 Stanford clocked in at 6:24.00 to win the race, while No. 8 Washington finished just under a second ahead of the Badgers at 6:29.94 to Wisconsin's 6:30.75.
The second varsity eight, meanwhile, finished runner-up behind USC in their preliminary heat, clocking in at 6:43.49. The Badgers completed the course 15 seconds ahead of third-place Sacramento State.
“It was a really good morning for us,” said head coach Bebe Bryans. “Both boats came out and raced really aggressively and executed exactly what we’ve been working on.”
“We’re showing that we can compete right off the bat.”
The varsity eight and second varsity eight compete against teams including Stanford, Washington, and USC for their respective titles on Sunday morning. Although all of the competition is from the Pac-10 conference, one of the more prestigious conferences in collegiate rowing, Bryans believes her teams are ready for the test based on how they raced in the preliminary heats.
“We made some positive changes and they (the rowers) stepped up their level of maturity and professionalism, which was really what we were working on.”
The Badgers look to improve on their third-place finishes in the race for both the Jessop-Whittier Cup and the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy from 2009, the last time Wisconsin competed at the San Diego Crew Classic.
San Diego Crew Classic (Day 1)
April 2, 2011
San Diego, Calif.
2000 meters
Varsity Eight
Jessop-Whittier Cup Heat B
1. Stanford, 6:24.00; 2. Washington, 6:29.94; 3. Wisconsin, 6:30.75; 4. Oklahoma, 6:35.91; 5. Oregon State, 6:47.35; 6. Purdue, 6:53.53
UW Lineup: Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Vanessa Kleiss, Briana Pittman, Lisa Godhardt, Katelyn Swanson, Anna Schettle, Rebekah Foelker, Rachel Buchholtz
Second Varsity Eight
Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy Heat A
1. USC, 6:41.60; 2. Wisconsin, 6:43.49; 3. Sacramento State, 6:58.58; 4. Oklahoma, 7:03.66; 5. Georgetown, 7:10.96; 6. Bates, 7:11.79; 7. Loyola, 7:32.11
UW Lineup: Coxswain Jane Roberts, Lauren Pietila, Amy Slesar, Margaret Yale, Hanna Lynch, Caitlin Mueller, Kate Mansfield, Kirsten Morelli, Hayley Leinss
