April 3, 2011

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women’s openweight rowing team finished the San Diego Crew Classic on Sunday by competing in the final heats of the races for the Jessop-Whittier Cup and the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy.

The No. 15 Badgers were the lowest-ranked team in the grand final for the Jessop-Whittier Cup, as four of their opponents are in the top ten in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll.

Despite that, the varsity eight still finished fourth, clocking in at 6:42.20 behind No. 9 USC, who won with a time of 6:32.90. The Badgers upset No. 8 Washington and No. 13 Washington State in the race, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

The second varsity eight also took fourth in their equally-competitive race for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy. Wisconsin finished with a time of 6:52.67, just .10 seconds behind third-place USC and almost eight seconds behind Washington, who won in 6:44.80.

Although neither squad finished in the top three of their respective races, head coach Bebe Bryans considers the Badgers’ weekend a success.

“Even though it looks like we weren’t as successful as we were the last time we came out here (in 2009), there was a lot more competition this year,” she explained. “All in all, it was a really successful weekend for us.

“We’re really pleased with the way we raced and the way we were able to take some really solid steps to move forward, especially not having had much time on the water.”

The Wisconsin women’s openweight rowers travel to Laingsburg, Mich., next Saturday for a Big Ten Double Dual against No. 12 Michigan and No. 10 Michigan State. Despite it being the team’s second consecutive weekend of competition against higher-ranked opponents, Bryans thinks that her defending Big Ten champions are ready for the challenge.

“We’re moving in the right direction.”

San Diego Crew Classic (Day 2)
April 3, 2011
San Diego, Calif.
2000 meters

Varsity Eight
Jessop-Whittier Cup Grand Final
1. USC, 6:32.90; 2. Stanford, 6:35.53; 3. California, 6:37.78; 4. Wisconsin, 6:42.20; 5. Washington, 6:46.02; 6. Washington State, 6:47.05

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 Grand Final
1. Washington, 6:44.80; 2. Stanford, 6:49.00; 3. USC, 6:52.57; 4. Wisconsin, 6:52.67; 5. Washington State, 6:58.77; 6. UCLA, 7:16.28

UW Lineup: Coxswain Jane Roberts, Lauren Pietila, Amy Slesar, Margaret Yale, Hanna Lynch, Caitlin Mueller, Kate Mansfield, Kirsten Morelli, Hayley Leinss

Saturday’s Results
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

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