MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin women's rowing team started off their fall season at the 18th Annual Milwaukee River Challenge with over 900 athletes competing down the winding course on the Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers.
During the three-mile head race, Wisconsin did not hold back as the UW boats took the top four spots in the women's open four and the top three spots in the women's open eight. The openweight top entries won both races, while the top lightweight eight placed second in the open eight event. The top lightweight four took third.
The winning UW open four of seniors
Saylor Martin,
Niamh Martin,
Sarah Gibbons,
Allie Lohrenz, and junior
Katherine Grose were also a part of the winning UW open eight.
From the River
Openweight assistant coach Jim Mitchell
It was a great way to get the season going. It was nice to open up the rate a little bit to see how fast we could go. The weather was perfect. Milwaukee put on a great regatta. The river was great. There were a lot of Wisconsin alumni and fans along the whole river as we raced. It is always a nice place for us to go and showcase our team.
Lightweight coach Dusty Mattison
We are really happy with how Milwaukee went today for the lightweight team. We are a fairly young squad with a lot of sophomores and freshmen and this was a great chance for them to get out there and have the focus to just go hard. We talked a lot about attacking it and take those chances now so we can figure out what areas we need to improve upon and they really took that to heart. They had fun doing that and they really supported each other. The positivity was awesome from the seniors all the way to the freshman. I think that is a really good sign.
On the fours
We had a bit more of an experienced four, a sophomore four and a little bit more of a freshman four. It was made to see how they were able to focus on working with each other. They had run getting out racing together and passing some boats.
On the eights
We had our lightweight eight who was really just aggressive all the way down. They tried to catch the openweight boats ahead of them, beating out some of the openweight boats for second really gave them an idea that this year there are a lot of possibilities. They can only keep getting better from here.
On the new volunteer coach
I want to acknowledge our new volunteer coach Chloe Laverack. She did a phenomenal job today being the person to organize getting all the equipment ready and keeping the athletes organized and knowing where they needed to be. She was a tremendous help.
Up next:
Wisconsin plays host to a scrimmage with Iowa and Indiana the weekend of Sept. 29 on Lake Mendota.
Milwaukee River Challenge
Sept. 15, 2018
Milwaukee and Menomonee Rivers
3 miles
Women's Open Four
1. Wisconsin A, 17:52.70; 2. Wisconsin C, 18:14.92; 3. Wisconsin B, 18:15.56; 4. Wisconsin D, 18:58.61; 5. Purdue A, 19:27.36; 6. Wisconsin E, 19:44.73; 9. Wisconsin F, 19:44.73
UW Lineups
Wisconsin A – Coxswain
Saylor Martin,
Niamh Martin,
Sarah Gibbons,
Allie Lohrenz,
Katherine Grose
Wisconsin B (Lightweights) – Coxswain
Mya Lebakken,
Grace Joyce,
Marilyn Garberg,
Grace D'Souza,
Rachel Illgen
Wisconsin C – Coxswain
Jane Merriman,
Alicia Evans,
Eliza Clifford,
Isa Darvin,
Renee Olley
Wisconsin D – Coxswain
Nicola Levy,
Rebekah Armstrong,
Taylor Caudle,
Abbey Moore-Kneipp,
Orennia Goetzinger
Wisconsin E (Lightweights) – Coxswain
Rachel Schwarz,
Julia Johnson,
Delaney Toepel,
Mallory Grim,
Sarah Stacks
Wisconsin F (Lightweights) – Coxswain
Eden Rane,
Tori Kost,
Kate Concannon, Liz Demers,
Lauren Brown
Women's Open Eight
1.Wisconsin A, 16:36.11; 2. Wisconsin C, 17:37.21; 3. Wisconsin B, 17:37.70; 4. Purdue A, 18:25.40; 5. Wisconsin D, 18:35.77
UW Lineups
Wisconsin A – Coxswain
Saylor Martin,
Niamh Martin,
Sarah Gibbons,
Allie Lohrenz,
Katherine Grose,
Isa Darvin,
Eliza Clifford,
Alicia Evans,
Renee Olley
Wisconsin B – Coxswain
Jane Merriman,
Rebekah Armstrong,
Lauren O'Connor,
Abbey Moore-Kneipp,
Olivia Oaks,
Elizabeth Clarke,
Taylor Caudle,
Makayla Stow,
Mackenna Wilkie
Wisconsin C (Lightweights) – Coxswain
Eden Rane,
Grace Joyce,
Marilyn Garberg,
Grace D'Souza,
Rachel Illgen,
Tori Kost,
Payton James,
Sophia D'Angelo,
Brianna Ohm
Wisconsin D (Lightweights) – Coxswain
Mya Lebakken, Lindsay Jiron,
Monica Rodriguez,
Sophia Krivoruchko,
Madison Chuchla,
Kate Concannon,
Rachel Smith, Becca Lonski,
Mackenzie Cote
