Badgers continue to get national attention
April 19, 2012 | Men's Rowing
April 19, 2012
MADISON, Wis. -- The success of Wisconsin’s three rowing teams last weekend paid off, as the women’s openweight team moved up in the latest rankings and the women’s lightweight novice eight is a finalist for the Row2k.com Crew of the Week.
The women’s lightweight novice eight arguably had the most impressive weekend and was named finalists in Row2k.com’s Crew of the Week poll. The UW crew, consisting of seven walk-ons, won the openweight novice event at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J.
The lightweight crew was racing in an openweight event and produced times faster than 28 other crews. After a heat and semifinal Saturday, the crew had just 20 minutes before racing in the lightweight varsity event, where they just barely missed qualifying for the final. Fans can vote for the Badgers in the Crew of the Week poll through 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 19.
The women’s lightweight varsity eight won the lightweight eight race at the Knecht Cup, and came in fourth in the openweight eight final. The Badgers remained at No. 2 in the USRowing Collegiate Poll, just eight points behind Stanford.
The women’s openweight team moved up to ninth in the latest Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing Coaches Poll, jumping ahead of Stanford and Brown.
The Badgers were ranked 11th last week and raced at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold Hills, Calif. UW won five of its seven races on Saturday, including wins over No. 9 Stanford and No. 10 Brown. The Badgers ended the day tied for second place with Stanford, just four points behind No. 8 California. On the second day of competition, the Badgers were paired with Stanford and host-California, where they finished second to the Golden Bears in three races and third in the final race.
After winning two-of-three races at the Stanford Invitational, the men’s rowing varsity eight boat is seventh in the coaches poll. The Badgers beat No. 10 Stanford and No. 18 Oregon State after falling to No. 3 California.
In the inaugural Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges conference rankings, the men’s first and third varsity eights are ranked third in the 18-team conference. The second varsity eight is second, while the novice eight is ranked 10th.
