Three former Badgers to compete in final World Cup race of the year
July 12, 2018 | Women's Rowing
Event an important selection tool for the 2018 World Championships
MADISON, Wis. – Three former Wisconsin women's rowers are set to compete in the 2018 World Rowing Cup III this weekend in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event will begin with opening heats Friday, before concluding with the finals this Saturday and Sunday.
In the third and final World Rowing Cup of the year, former Badgers Vicky Opitz, Sophia Vitas and Maddie Wanamaker will race in three of the United States' 12 crews competing in the regatta.
Opitz, a 2011 graduate of UW and a 2016 Olympic alternate, is set to race in both the women's eight and the women's four after appearing in both events during last year's Rowing Cup II. During the 2017 regatta, Opitz helped the both boats to top-five finishes. A native of Middleton, Wisconsin, Opitz helped the eights set a world record during the 2013 World Rowing Cup III, finishing with a time of 5:54.160.
Vitas, a native of Franklin, Wisconsin, will make her second appearance in a World Rowing Cup, racing in the women's four this year. The 2016 Wisconsin graduate took seventh in the women's pair at the Rowing Cup II last year. Most recently, Vitas raced in the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida, helping the women's eight to a fourth-place finish in the final with a time of 6:09.250.
After placing second in the women's eight at the Under-23 Championships last year, Wanamaker will travel to Europe to race with the women's four in her first World Rowing Cup. Before graduating from Wisconsin in 2017, Wanamaker raced with the Badgers' varsity eight for two years, leading the crew to an 11th-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships her senior season.
In the third and final World Rowing Cup of the year, former Badgers Vicky Opitz, Sophia Vitas and Maddie Wanamaker will race in three of the United States' 12 crews competing in the regatta.
Opitz, a 2011 graduate of UW and a 2016 Olympic alternate, is set to race in both the women's eight and the women's four after appearing in both events during last year's Rowing Cup II. During the 2017 regatta, Opitz helped the both boats to top-five finishes. A native of Middleton, Wisconsin, Opitz helped the eights set a world record during the 2013 World Rowing Cup III, finishing with a time of 5:54.160.
Vitas, a native of Franklin, Wisconsin, will make her second appearance in a World Rowing Cup, racing in the women's four this year. The 2016 Wisconsin graduate took seventh in the women's pair at the Rowing Cup II last year. Most recently, Vitas raced in the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida, helping the women's eight to a fourth-place finish in the final with a time of 6:09.250.
After placing second in the women's eight at the Under-23 Championships last year, Wanamaker will travel to Europe to race with the women's four in her first World Rowing Cup. Before graduating from Wisconsin in 2017, Wanamaker raced with the Badgers' varsity eight for two years, leading the crew to an 11th-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships her senior season.
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