May 15, 2011
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 3 Wisconsin women’s lightweight rowing team competed at the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges (EAWRC) Championships, better known as the Eastern Sprints, on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., on Sunday.
The Badgers scored two titles and two runner-up finishes in three events to win their fifth-straight Konrad Ulbrich Trophy. The trophy goes to the lightweight crew with the best overall performance of the day.
“It’s really rewarding after a year of hard work, especially with (such) a young team, to be able to win the trophy,” said head coach Erik Miller.
The second lightweight varsity eight started the day on a high note for the Badgers, winning its fourth-consecutive EAWRC title. The crew finished in 6:50.08, more than 11 seconds ahead of second-place Radcliffe.
Princeton, whose second lightweight varsity eights came into Sunday’s race undefeated, finished in third with Bucknell and MIT rounding out the competition.
Wisconsin’s winning crew included freshman coxswain Lexi Sabarots, Jennifer Gross, Breanne Lynch, Christin Wiegand, Taylor Fries, Emily Finch, Laura Urban, Erin Wylie, and Meredith Freshley.
“They set the tone for us with that race,” Miller said. “They made a lot of progress over the past couple of weeks.
“They got out of the starting blocks really well and clean, and had an effective and quick race. It was good to see them in a controlled position.”
Wisconsin kept that momentum going into the lightweight varsity fours race 15 minutes later.
The Badgers made up the top half of the four-boat field, as UW’s top boat won the event with a time of 7:39.46. The Wisconsin ‘B’ boat finished in 7:57.96, good for second place ahead of Georgetown and Radcliffe.
“It was exciting to see both Badger boats out in front,” Miller said. “It really shows the depth and strength of our program that we’re able to have a strong performance like that and take the top two spots in the fours race.”
Maddy Raff, Caroline Mansueti, Gillian Lapadat and Kristin Eline were led by coxswain Jenna Pavelec in the Badgers’ ‘A’ boat.
The Badgers’ final race of the day was the lightweight varsity eight. While they were close to repeating what the second lightweight varsity eights did in knocking off unbeaten Princeton, they finished behind the top-ranked Tigers in second place with a time of 6:34.14.
Princeton finished in 6:30.39 to win the title, followed by Wisconsin, Radcliffe, Bucknell, Georgetown, and MIT.
Despite his team finishing second for the first time in his tenure, Miller says he is happy with what he saw out of some of his top rowers.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve lost that race, so there were a lot of long faces in the boat, but I think they rowed a good race,” he said.
The Badgers’ varsity eight came a long way against Princeton from the beginning of the season, when they lost to the Tigers by 13 seconds at the Stanford Invitational on March 26. This keeps Miller optimistic.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction, and we still have about three weeks to catch up and get things figured out before we get another crack at them at the IRA’s (National Championships),” he said.
“We made up a lot of ground on them, and we will continue to try and chase them down.”
This was most likely the final racing of the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges championships, as the Ivy League looks to branch out and host its own conference championships starting next season.
In the meantime, Wisconsin looks ahead to the immediate future and the IRA National Championships, June 2-4, also on the Cooper River. The Badgers seek their third national title in the past four years and sixth in the past eight.
2011 Eastern Sprints
May 15, 2011
Cooper River
Camden, N.J.
2,000 meters
Varsity Eight
1. Princeton, 6:30.39; 2. Wisconsin, 6:34.14; 3. Radcliffe, 6:41.59; 4. Bucknell, 6:49.00; 5. Georgetown, 6:51.76; 6. MIT, 7:03.68
UW Lineup: Coxswain Shelly Miller, Jessica Lund, Grace Lautman, Constance Chucholowski, Allie Brown, Hillary Schmidt, Johanna Brady, Helen Beckner, Abby Knight
Second Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:50.08; 2. Radcliffe, 7:01.69; 3. Princeton, 7:08.21; 4. Bucknell, 7:09.26; 5. MIT, 7:33.97
UW Lineup: Coxswain Lexi Sabarots, Jennifer Gross, Breanne Lynch, Christin Wiegand, Taylor Fries, Emily Finch, Laura Urban, Erin Wylie, Meredith Freshley
Varsity Four
1. Wisconsin A, 7:39.46; 2. Wisconsin B, 7:57.96; 3. Georgetown, 8:10.83; 4. Radcliffe, 8:22.98
UW A Lineup: Coxswain Jenna Pavelec, Maddy Raff, Caroline Mansueti, Gillian Lapadat, Kristin Eline
UW B Lineup: Coxswain Janel Alters, Erin Mullin, Samantha Fix, Sophie Gavell, Anais Webster
