Iowa Hosts Head of the Iowa

Oct. 25, 2009

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IOWA CITY, IA- The University of Iowa’s rowing team hosted the Head of Iowa Sunday. The Hawkeyes last hosted the event in 2006. It also was the first time the team was able to row at their new P. Sue Beckwith, M.D. Boathouse. The team had a great home crowd cheering them on as they faced Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kansas State along with other schools.

Iowa started off strong in its first race of the day, claiming first, third and eighth in the women’s collegiate 8’s. Iowa’s first varsity 8 won the event with a time of 12:10.921, with its second varsity 8 coming in second at 12:29.42. The eighth place finishing team for Iowa came in with a time of 12:58.962. The women’s Novice 8 won their event with a time of 13:13.222, which was faster than five boats in the Varsity 8.

“It was a very good day for Iowa rowing,” said Head Coach Mandi Kowal. “The program raced well in each of their events and came away with several medals. It shows the hard work that they have been putting in and I am glad we were able to get a couple of victories under our belts. Also, with each race we learn what we need to focus on for the next regatta.”

Iowa wrapped up their competition in the women’s collegiate 4’s with a winning time of 13:16.808. Members of the first place boat included, Sheila Rinozzi, Emily Katalinich, Megan Erickson, Jessica Novack and Haylie Miller. The Hawkeyes also grabbed a fifth and sixth place finish in the race.

“What makes this event even more special is that we were able to row out of our facility. It has not happened before and we thoroughly enjoyed it,” added Kowal. “The fans were awesome and very loud. It actually threw the team off in the first race but we made a slight adjustment for the next race and you could see that. I look forward to our next week of practice. We have five days to address a few technical issues and finalize the lineups to find even more speed.”

Iowa returns to action November 1 at the Notre Dame Regatta in South Bend, IN.

For complete results visit http://www.hawkeyesports.com/sports/w-rowing/spec-rel/2010-head-of-iowa-tournament.html