Iowa Rowers Finish Third at U23 Trials

July 1, 2010

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Craftsbury Common, VT – University of Iowa rowers Jessica Novack and Katy Kroll could be forgiven for a feeling of déjà vu during their U23 World Championship trials on Mercer Lake in New Jersey. While the setting was wrong, the race could’ve passed for the Big Ten Championships as all the athletes competing in the women’s open pair entries were from either Iowa, Michigan or Wisconsin.

But no matter their collegiate affiliation, it became obvious early in the race that all the entries faced a stiff challenge from the USRowing’s Selection Camp pair of Michigan athletes. The USRA 2- broke the world record by nearly 10 seconds, and quickly left the rest of the field fighting for minor placings.

After pushing a pair from Wisconsin all the way down the course, Novack and Kroll ended third on the day in 7:46.0.

“I really thought they were going to track down 2nd and beat Wisconsin, but they ran out of steam at the end,” observed the pair’s Small Boat Training Center coach Larry Gluckman. “But they rowed very well, and it was very exciting for me to see a rising sophomore like Katy row to that level. Jess’ experience as a rising senior was great for the boat to draw from as well.”

The Hawkeye rowers had joined the Craftsbury Small Boat Training Center (SBTC) only three weeks prior to the Trials. The SBTC is a program designed to be a bridge from collegiate rowing to the US National Team, with a focus on smaller boats. While their time was limited, the women made the most of it and improved across the board. They certainly impressed coach Gluckman.

“I thought they had one of the steepest learning curves of any of the crews that were here this year, with only three weeks before Trials. They did a really good job,” he remarked.

You can view complete results from the regatta online at www.powerhousetiming.com.