May 11, 2004
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THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa rowing team will travel to Oak Ridge, TN, Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Lexus Central/Southern Region Sprints. Competition will take place on Melton Hill Lake and is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. both days.
THE COMPETITION: Iowa will be competing against Central Florida, Duke, #3 Michigan, #20 Texas, Louisville, Indiana, Minnesota, #5 Ohio State, #14 Notre Dame, Kansas State, Murray State, Cincinnati, Clemson, #7 Virginia, #13 Tennessee, Kansas, Eastern Michigan, SMU, Miami, #10 Wisconsin, #11 Michigan State and North Carolina. Three of these teams are conference champions: Michigan of the Big Ten, Virginia of the ACC, and Notre Dame of the Big East.
IOWA VS. THE COMPETITION: The Hawkeyes faced Duke, Kansas State and Texas at the Longhorn Invitational in March. Iowa finished the weekend with five wins, defeating Duke in the Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+, Kansas State in the Varsity 8+ and Second Varsity 8+, and Texas in the Varsity 4+. Before competing at the Big Ten Championships, the Hawkeyes faced Minnesota, winning only the Varsity 4+. Iowa also took on Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin at Lake Lemon in Bloomington, IN. Iowa’s Varsity Varsity+ finished only two seconds behind Wisconsin’s then-14th ranked crew.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Hawkeyes finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships May 1 in Iowa City. Iowa’s First Varsity 8 took second in the Petite Final, and sixth overall, with a time of 7:01.5. Iowa’s Second Varsity 8, First Varsity 4, and Second Varsity 4 all finished second in the Petite final. The 2V8+ timed a 7:14.5, 1V4+ timed an 8:08 and the 2V4+ finished in a time of 8:35.4.
HEAD COACH: Mandi Kowal is in her 10th year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Her most recent acccomplishments include leading Iowa to the NCAA Championship meet three of the past seven years. Kowal was a two-time rowing World Champion in the Women’s Lightweight Four without coxswain in 1986 and 1987. She was named “Female Athlete of the Year” in 1987 by the US Rowing Association and was inducted into the United States Rowing Hall of Fame in 1997.