Badgers win team title at Eastern Sprints

Sunday, April 30

Worcester, MA

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Wisconsin Badgers

Eastern Sprints

Badgers win team title at Eastern Sprints

April 30, 2017 | Lightweight Rowing

Strong performances lead to coveted accolade

WORCESTER, Mass. — For the first time since 2012, the No. 6 Wisconsin women's lightweight rowing team travels back to Madison from the Eastern Sprints with the Konrad Ulbrich Team Points Trophy. The Badgers earned 38 points overall thanks to two first-place finishes in the second varsity eight and varsity four boats, as well as two second-place finishes in the varsity eight and third varsity eight events.

"Winning the points trophy was one of our big goals this year," said head coach Dusty Mattison. "We would've loved to sweep it, but the fact that we achieved that goal gives us a little more confidence going into the next few weeks."

Wisconsin's varsity four started the day off with a bang, winning the grand final in open water fashion. The UW boat finished ahead of Georgetown and Boston University by nearly 20 seconds.

Wisconsin's novice lightweight eight competed in the third varsity eight race, and took second behind Radcliffe with a time of 7:08.87.

"I'm pretty positive that the freshmen were the only full novice boat in that race," said Mattison. "They were racing hard all the way down and Radcliffe just beat them out at the end."

The second varsity eight claimed Wisconsin's second gold medal of the day, defeating Radcliffe, Boston University and Princeton with a time of 6:53.56.

"The second varsity eight was spectacular," said Mattison. "We've been moving them around all season and no matter who's in the boat they do what they need to do."

The varsity grand final rounded out the day, where Wisconsin was neck-and-neck with Radcliffe for the majority of the race until Radcliffe pulled away to edge out UW in the last few hundred meters. The UW boat finished second with a time of 6:46.67, narrowly beating out Princeton for a silver medal by just a few tenths of a second.

"We talk about doing it for each other," said Mattison. "It finally clicked with the varsity eight today that the more they do it together, the faster they can go. They felt that on the start and now we just need to find that middle 1000 meters where we can maintain the speed."

Last season, Wisconsin placed second in the team trophy race, missing out on first place by just a few points. This year, the Badgers came hungry for redemption and their hard work paid off.

Coming home with the Eastern Sprints team trophy for the first time in five years, the UW lightweights have added another impressive accolade to their resume. Looking forward, the team takes two weeks off before racing at the Dad Vails. They have a month to prepare for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, which will be held June 3-4 in Gold River, California.

Results
Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges Championships (Eastern Sprints)
April 30, 2017
Worcester, Mass.
Lake Quinsigamond
2000 meters

Konrad Ulbrich Lightweight Points Trophy
1. Wisconsin - 38
2. Radcliffe - 35
3. Princeton - 17
4. Boston University - 16
5. Georgetown - 8

Lightweight Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Radcliffe, (6:43.42), 2. Wisconsin, (6:46.67), 3. Princeton, (6:46.78), 4. Boston University, (6:47.61), 5. Georgetown, (6:59.93)
UW Lineup: Audrey Dalgarno (C), Brianna Wynne, Agathe Denis, Grace Joyce, Mirha Girt, Kathryne Ruffalo, Janet Titzler, Alexandra Fochios, Marilyn Garberg

Lightweight Second Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Wisconsin, (6:53.56), 2. Radcliffe, (6:58.88), 3. Boston University, (7:03.29), 4. Princeton, (7:06.59)
UW Lineup: Eleanor Martin (C), Claire Kelley, Brianna Ohm, Anna Dawley, Amadna Aiello, Shannon Lipe, Payton James, Ariel Tallo, Anna Leach

Lightweight Third Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Radcliffe, (7:05.65), 2. Wisconsin, (7:08.87), 3. Princeton, (7:31.89)
UW Lineup: Lucy Tasker (C), Abigail Keith, Rachel Illgen, Caroline Bias, Hannah Fenelon, Alyssa DeZeeuw, Chloe Fishman, Meagan Barillari, Enya Doherty

Lightweight Varsity Four - Grand Final
1. Wisconsin, (7:36.85), 2. Georgetown, (7:55.44), 3. Boston University, (7:59.58)
UW Lineup: Anika Chatterjee (C), Jacqueline Jones, Theresa Kimball, Jenn Whitehill, Madeline Rowe