WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- After last weekend's cancelation of the Big Ten Double Dual, the Wisconsin women's lightweight rowing team took to Mercer Lake Saturday to compete in a busy day of the Knecht Cup, with each boat racing four races total. The competition was condensed into one day rather than two, due to Sunday's forecast portraying high winds.

"The team was able to go with the flow," head coach Dusty Mattison said. "They knew that the work they put in during winter training and all year long really prepared them to have the endurance to be able to execute solid races each time down the course, so they were able to rise to the challenge."
 
UW's third-ranked lightweight eight A boat took second in heat one, advancing to the Grand Final with a mark of 6:44.19, with boat B and boat C taking fourth and fifth in heat two, recording respective times of 6:53.92 and 7:10.95. In the Grand Final, boat A finished fourth with a time of 6:44.76 and boat B took seventh with a time of 7:02.09.

The Badgers lightweight varsity eights also took second in heat one of the women's varsity eight, finishing with a time of 6:37.77, which was also second among all of the 19 teams competing in the event. In the Grand Final, Wisconsin took fourth as it ended with a time of 6:46.52.

Wisconsin's A and B boat took first in their heats in the women's lightweight four, advancing to the Grand Finals with 7:36.81 and 7:49.37 finishes, respectively. In the final, the A boat took first in the event, with a 7:28.48 finish, defeating second place Princeton's A boat by a 8.91 second split.
 
The lightweight team, racing a freshmen crew, took first in heat one of the women's third varsity eight, finishing with a mark of 7:14.43 and advancing to the final. In the Grand Final, the Badgers fell behind to openweight crews from UConn and Boston College, placing third with a finish of 7:10.37.
 
From the Lake
Lightweight Coach Dusty Mattison
"Racing isn't something that can come all together at once," Mattison remarked. "You really have to put in the effort to practice, and they all took that to heart, and came off the water each time excited to see what the goal could be for the next one [race].

On the freshmen
"The freshmen had a phenomenal day. We just had so much fun. They looked sharp and professional and were smiling and just having fun together. They really represented the team in a very positive light. They just kept getting better each time down the course.

"Karly Laney in her first year here at Wisconsin has done a phenomenal job with the freshmen and are setting them up to be really great contributors on the varsity team.

"All-around a really great day, and I think we are starting to hit our stride as a program. Today was a big turning point, and all of the hard work was done together and we all had fun doing it."

Up Next
The Wisconsin women's lightweight rowing team will be in action next weekend, April 21 and 22 in the SIRA Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Knecht Cup
April 14, 2018
Mercer Lake
West Windsor, N.J.
2000 meters
 
Women's Lightweight Eight
Grand Final
1. Boston University (A), (6:40.70); 2. Georgetown (A), (6:42.83), 3. Princeton, (6:43.91); 4. Wisconsin (A), (6:44.76); 5. Harvard-Radcliffe, (6:50.24); 6. MIT (A), (6:56.54); 7. Wisconsin (B), (7:02.09)

Petite Final
1. Wisconsin C, 7:09.74; 2. Georgetown B, 7:14.74; 3. Boston University B, 7:18.12; 4. MIT B, 7:28.12; 5. MIT C, 8:13.10

Heat 1
1. Boston University (A), (6:43.05); 2. Wisconsin (A), (6:44.19); 3. Harvard-Radcliffe, (6:46.75); 4. Boston University (B), (7:06.60); 5. Georgetown (B), (7:12.74); 6. MIT (C), (8:10.25)

Heat 2
1. Georgetown (A), (6:46.12); 2. Princeton, (6:47.76); 3. MIT (A), (6:51.89); 4. Wisconsin (B), (6:53.92); 5. Wisconsin (C), (7:10.95); 6. MIT (B), (7:15.91)­­­

A – Coxswain Anika Chatterjee, Agathe Denis, Brianna Wynne, Grace D'Souza, Jennifer Whitehill, Grace Joyce, Brianna Ohm, Kathryne Ruffalo, Rachel Illgen
B – Coxswain Rachel Yan, Claire Kelley, Marilyn Garberg, Alexandra Fochios, Mirha Girt, Jacqueline Jones, Payton James, Shannon Lipe, Janet Titzler
C (Novice) – Coxswain Mya Lebakken, Julia Johnson, Sarah Stacks, Tori Kost, Kate Maguire, Delaney Toepel, Virginia Mathu, Mallory Grim, Alicia Wolf

Women's Varsity Eight
Grand Final
1. UPenn, (6:38.81); 2. Boston College, (6:45.56); 3. Boston University (LWT), (6:46.29); 4. Wisconsin (LWT), (6:46.52); 5. Temple, (6:47.09); 6. Harvard-Radcliffe (LWT), (6:48.59); 7. George Washington. (6:49.14)  

Heat 1
1. Penn, (6:36.00); 2. Wisconsin (LWT), (6:37.77); 3. Harvard-Ratcliffe, (6:40.34); 4. Kansas, (6:43.65); 5. UConn, (6:46.45); 6. New Hampshire, (6:58.72); 7. Jefferson, (7:01.00)

Coxswain Anika Chatterjee, Agathe Denis, Brianna Wynne, Grace D'Souza, Jennifer Whitehill, Grace Joyce, Brianna Ohm, Kathryne Ruffalo, Rachel Illgen

 Women's Lightweight Four
Grand Final
1. Wisconsin (A), (7:28.48); 2. Princeton (A), (7:37.39); 3. Georgetown (B), (7:40.86); 4. Georgetown (A), (7:44.82); 5. Boston University (A), (7:47.93), 6. Wisconsin (B), (8:02.42)

Heat 1
1. Wisconsin (B), (7.49.37); 2. Boston University (A), (7:51.37); 3. MIT (B), (7:53.77); 4. MIT (A), 5. Harvard-Radcliffe, (8:06.38)

Heat 2
1. Wisconsin (A), (7:36.81); 2. Georgetown (B), (7:45.97); 3. Harvard-Radcliffe, (8:00.96); 4. Penn State, (8:21.78); 5. TCNJ, (8:29.53)

A - Coxswain Rachel Yan, Claire Kelley, Marilyn Garberg, Janet Titzler, Mirha Girt
B - Coxswain Rachel Schwarz, Alexandra Fochios, Payton James, Jacqueline Jones, Shannon Lipe

Women's Third Varsity Eight
Heat 1
1. Wisconsin (LWT), (7:14.43); 2. Villanova, (7:33.19); 3. Kansas, (7:35.22); 4. George Mason, (8:14.74)

Grand Final
1. UConn, (7:07.85); 2. Boston College, (7:08.48); 3. Wisconsin (LWT), (7:10.37); 4. Temple, (7:17.35); 5. Kansas, (7:21.22); 6. Old Dominion, (7:29.26); 7. Vaillanova, (7:29.44)

UW Lineups
Novice - Coxswain Rachel Schwarz, Julia Johnson, Sarah Stacks, Tori Kost, Kate Maguire, Delaney Toepel, Virginia Mathu, Mallory Grim, Alicia Wolf