Iowa To Open Fall Season

Sept. 22, 2010

THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa women’s rowing team will open its fall season Saturday as it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Head of the Des Moines. Races will begin at approximately 8:30 a.m.

THE RACE: In Saturday’s regatta, hosted by the Des Moines Rowing Club, rowers will race through a 2.85 mile course down the Des Moines river and finish at Prospect Park. Historically, the race attracts approximately 600 rowers for about 80 races. The Hawkeyes will place competitors in the Collegiate 8, Collegiate 4, and Collegiate pairs.

HOME OF THE HAWKEYES: The P. Sue Beckwith, M.D., Boathouse was dedicated September 18, 2009. The new state of the art facility for the Hawkeyes is located within the city of Iowa City’s Terrell Mill Park, next to the Iowa River.

It is an ideal site to fulfill all the needs of the rowing team. More efficient boat storage racks, an indoor rowing tank, and an ergometer room (for machine rowing) is incorporated in the building.

HEAD COACH: Mandi Kowal is in her 17th year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. In the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Rowing Championships, she coached the Varsity 4+ teams to fourth and eighth-places finishes, respectively. Kowal began her rowing career at the University of Wisconsin in 1981. She was a two-time rowing World Champion in the Women’s Lightweight 4- (1986-1987). 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.

QUOTING COACH KOWAL: “The team is looking forward to getting to race. It’s our ultimate goal to use this experience to advance as a team in preparation for future regattas.”

HEAD OF THE IOWA: The Unviersity of Iowa women’s rowing team will host the Head of the Iowa on Oct. 31. The event will be held at the Beckwith Boathouse and will start at approximately 10 a.m.

For more information regarding the Head of the Iowa go to hawkeyesports.com.