Sept. 17, 2011
Milwaukee, Wis -- The Wisconsin women's openweight and lightweight rowing teams opened their season with a strong performance at the Milwaukee River Challenge on Saturday. The Badgers had six boats competing in both the open eight and open four races, claiming the top-five spots and seventh place in both races.
On a beautiful day with a little wind on the Milwaukee and Menomonie Rivers, Wisconsin began the day with a dominant performance in the four. The openweight A, C and B boats swept the top-three spots respectively, followed by the two lightweight boats in fourth and fifth. Chasing Purdue in sixth, the openweight D boat finished in seventh place.
It was more of the same for the Badgers in the eight, as the Wisconsin openweights finished first and second followed by the Wisconsin lightweight A boat in third. The openweight C and D boats followed in fourth and fifth with the lightweight B boat in seventh. Once again, Purdue's finish in sixth was the only thing spoiling Wisconsin's chances of sweeping the top six.
"We had a really good day today," openweight head coach Bebe Bryans said. "The openweights had a really solid performance across the board, we were really pleased with the way they executed and the rowing that they were able to perform."
After less than two weeks of practice, lightweight head coach Erik Miller was pleased with the race to start the season. "They did a good job today for having a pretty short period of time on the water and not having done a lot of work at race-pace it was good to see them go out and be competitive."
Up next for Wisconsin rowing are the class day races, Saturday Sept. 24, on Lake Mendota. Both the openweight women and lightweight women will be competing in their only race of the fall in Madison. The annual race gives the current Badgers a chance to race against Wisconsin rowing alumni.
Milwaukee River Challenge
September 17, 2011
Menomonie and Milwaukee Rivers
Open Eight
1. Wisconsin A, 17:04.97; 2. Wisconsin B, 17:29.24; 3. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 17:44.48; 4. Wisconsin C, 17:54.92; 5. Wisconsin D, 18:16.08; 6. Purdue A, 18.22.27; 7. Wisconsin Lightweight B, 18:48.81
Open A - Coxswain Jane Roberts, Stroke Rachel Buchholtz, Vanessa Kleiss, Monica Whitehouse, Amy Slesar, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Beth Swanson, Alex Opitz, Kate Mansfield
Open B - Coxswain Clare Chandler, Stroke Lauren Pietila, Leah Gustafson, Caitlin Mueller, Hanna Lynch, Jena Wilder, Cathy Randle, Shannon Hoffman, Melanie Moranski
Lightweight A - Coxswain Jenna Pavelec, Stroke Hillary Schmidt, Abby Knight, Helen Beckner, Jessica Lund, Jenn Gross, Constance Chucholowski, Gillian Lapadat, Meredith Freshley
Open C - Coxswain Elizabeth Parker, Stroke Katherine Hanes, Rachel Kean, Christin Wiegand, Carly Orwin, Sara Watermolen, Brenna Van Maren, Julia Whittet, Jessica Baldwin
Open D - Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Stroke Kaitlin Dunn, Kaitlyn Mayer, Ciera Mead, Eleanore Kukla, Sierra Fischer, Charlotte Keleske, Chelsea Sequin, Bethany Reith
Lightweight B - Coxswain Lexi Sabarots, Amanda Montgomery, Erin Wylie, Samantha Brecht, Sophie Gavell, Anais Webster, Erin Mullin, Mel Abler, Lauren Steavpack
Open Four
1. Wisconsin A, 17:53.87; 2. Wisconsin C, 18:52.23; 3. Wisconsin B, 18:53.54; 4. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 19:15.60; 5. Wisconsin Lightweight B, 20:15.91; 6. Purdue A, 20.17.52; 7. Wisconsin D, 20:33.28
Open A - Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Stroke Vanessa Kleiss, Monica Whitehouse, Beth Swanson, Rachel Buchholtz
Open C - Coxswain Dauntless, Soley Pitre, Lauren Pietila, Melanie Moranski, Caitlin Mueller, Cathy Randle
Open B - Coxswain Elizabeth Parker, Stroke Amy Slesar, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Kate Mansfield, Alex Opitz
Lightweight A - Coxswain Lexi Sabarots, Stroke Helen Beckner, Abby Knight, Hillary Schmidt, Jessica Lund
Lightweight B - Coxswain Jenna Pavelec, Stroke Jenn Gross, Amanda Montgomery, Erin Wylie, Anais Webster
Open D - Coxswain Jane Roberts, Stroke Jessica Baldwin, Emma Allman, Caroline Robbins, Catherine Yeksegian
