EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Badgers traveled to East Lansing for a two-day scrimmage taking on Michigan State, while the novices went up against Michigan State, Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Each team wore pink hats in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
 
Let's get an inside look from our Badgers straight from the lake.
 
Junior Katherine Grose on the weekend
"Overall, I think our team had a fantastic weekend of racing. Seven-hour bus rides seem shorter when you're on your way to compete! It was nice to travel to Michigan and put everything we've been working on in practice to the test.
 
"I've been to Michigan State's boathouse a few times now and as always they were both amazing hosts and competition for us. We were lucky to be hosted by such a respected and strong group of women. After providing everyone with dinner, Michigan State also provided us with pumpkins to carve, which was awesome. It had easily been at least 10 years since I last carved a pumpkin and it was fun to bond with them over making creative jack-o-lanterns!
 
"The novices looked great for their first race on the water. As varsity, it's always nerve-racking to wait for the freshmen to come down the racecourse—we want nothing more than to see them do well! We are fortunate to have a group of bright, hardworking freshmen this year. They seemed to learn a lot from Saturday's racing to Sunday's and I'm proud of them and the improvements they were able to make as racing went on.
 
"We have an aggressive varsity boat this year, and I think we were able to execute to our race plan well. While there's still room for improvement, you can't teach a boat of women how to be racers, and every single woman in our varsity boat is without a doubt a ruthless and tenacious rower. We pushed to have an aggressive start for each of the pieces. I'm excited to see what else we can do as the season progresses!"
 
Racing does come with obstacles, especially in headraces. Overcoming these and to continue racing is what our Badgers are great at.
 
Junior Rebekah Armstrong on the racing
"I was in the Wisco C four for the head race and we definitely had some obstacles right from the start. Our skeg had weeds on it causing us to lose our steering and we ran into the bridge before the start. That was startling and caused a little bit of panic, but we recuperated and didn't let it stop us from pulling like crazy and finishing the race to the best of our ability.
 
"I think the past couple of weeks we have been working on finding a collective rhythm, locking in together/powering up and truly racing. I think we found that today. We learned things from every piece. This gave us confidence in the good work we have been putting in to get boat speed and rhythm together.
 
"It was so much fun being able to watch our novices on Saturday, since we don't get to see them race, let alone row that often, but when we do mix we see the incredible amount of strength and skill that they are developing. Coach Monica is doing a great job, so I had no doubt they would crush it this weekend.
 
"I felt as if our whole team made great improvements in going together, blade work, and overall gritty racing spirit.
 
"This weekend I was stroking both the Wisco C four and the 2V, a seat that can be nerve-racking and hard, but I have been working on building my confidence and trusting my boat mates as well as our training. Overall, I like the pressure and responsibility that comes with stroking and being able to lead the race with amazing, strong and supportive women backing me up the whole way. Today we felt like we had made major improvements and was the best it has ever felt; it truly showed us the speed that we know we have, so I'm looking forward to showing this racing spirit and rhythm again against Minnesota this coming weekend."
 
Most importantly, how does Head Coach Bebe Bryans feel about this weekend?
 
Head Coach Bebe Bryans
"First of all, I want to give a big thanks to Michigan State for hosting a great weekend. This was a great opportunity to see how we have progressed from a few weeks ago. The fours were solid and the eights really came together.
 
"The freshmen were amazing. Saturday was the first time they were out there on their own with little structure, but they came together even more and rallied on Sunday.
 
"This weekend was well worth the trip. Overall it was great racing, rowing and learning and we took really good strides for both boats.
 
The Badgers had a great weekend of racing and even got into the Halloween spirit.
 
Next up, Wisconsin hosts Minnesota on Lake Mendota Sunday, Nov. 4.
 
UW Lineups
 
Varsity Fours
A – Coxswain Saylor Martin, Isa Darvin, Eliza Clifford, Allie Lohrenz, Katherine Grose
B – Coxswain Maggie Mandarano, Alicia Evans, Renee Olley, Lauren O'Connor, Sarah Gibbons
C – Coxswain Georgia Norton, Rebekah Armstrong, Niamh Martin, Alyson Nerenhausen, Elizabeth Clarke
D – Coxswain Jane Merriman, Makayla Stow, Taylor Caudle, Mackenna Wilkie, Orennia Goetzinger
E – Coxswain Nikki Levy, Carissa Witthuhn, Kaylee Steeno, Samantha Harris, Sophia Marshall
 
Varsity Eights
A – Coxswain Saylor Martin, Isa Darvin, Eliza Clifford, Allie Lohrenz, Sarah Gibbons, Lauren O'Connor, Katherine Grose, Alicia Evans, Renee Olley
B – Coxswain Emma Smith, Rebekah Armstrong, Taylor Caudle, Makayla Stow, Elizabeth Clarke, Alyson Nerenhausen, Niamh Martin, Mackenna Wilkie, Orennia Goetzinger
 
Novice Eights
A – Coxswain Marcella Cannatti, Megan Pierce, Kyra Porter, Sarah Navin, Maureen Burke, Jaclyn Garwood, Brandi Gueths, Adrienne Kisting, Jennifer Haus
B – Katelyn Weaver, Olivia Bratzke, Emily Hoffins, Ellery Craven, Abigail Johnson, Melina Lobitz, Abigail Buschette, Sarah Edwards, Kendra Davis