Iowa Faced Louisville at Longhorn Invitational

March 19, 2010

AUSTIN, TX – The University of Iowa rowing team kicked off its first day of spring season at the Longhorn Invitational. Iowa faced the University of Louisville and raced in the Varsity 8’s, Varsity 4’s, Novice 8’s and Novice 4’s. Iowa raced Texas in two races because Louisville did not have enough athletes. The Hawkeyes raced two boats in the varsity events and one in the novice events. Iowa placed first in five of six events.

Iowa raced a distance of 2000m on the Lady Bird Lake (Old Town Lake). There were steady headwinds throughout the races.

The Varsity 8 boats kicked off the first day of racing. The boat of seniors Sheila Rinozzi, Emily Vinson, Emily Katalinich, Megan Erickson, juniors Caitlin Kuempel, Jessica Novack, Allison Robsinson, sophomore Christine Allingham and freshman Katy Koll placed first in the event. The team raced a time of 7:20.6, which was 18 seconds faster than Louisville’s second place boat (7:38.6). Iowa’s second Varsity 8 also placed first in its heat and raced a time of 7:37.7, which was faster than the Louisville boat that the Varsity 1 boat raced.

The competition continued with the Varsity 4’s. Juniors Emily Melvold, Katherine Radasevich, Meghan Clancy sophomore Chloe Zwiacher, senior Annette Allard teamed up to place first. Iowa’s second Varsity 4 team placed first in their heat with a time of 8:46.0 and Louisville came in second with a time of 9:15.0.

“This was a good start to our weekend and our season as a whole,” said Head Coach Mandi Kowal. “Although we handled the windy conditions well especially considering how little time we’ve had on the water, we still have some areas in our racing we need to clean up. We are looking forward to seeing how our athletes can improve from race to race this season.”

Tomorrow the Hawkeyes will take on the University of Central Florida Golden Knights beginning at 8:40 a.m. and face the Texas Longhorns at 4:00 p.m.

Varsity 8’s (1) 1. Iowa 7:20.6 2. Louisville 7:38.6

Varsity 8’s (2) 1. Iowa 7:37.7 2. Louisville 7:40.1

Varsity 4’s (1) 1. Iowa NA 2. Louisville NA

Varsity 4’s (2) 1. Iowa 8:46.0 2. Texas 9:15.0

Novice 8’s (1) 1. Iowa 8:15.9 2. Louisville 8:55.1

Novice 4’s 1. Texas 9:32.7 2. Iowa 9:50.0