Oct. 2, 2011
Oklahoma City, Okla. — The University of Iowa women’s rowing team opened up the fall season at the Head of the Oklahoma Saturday and Sunday down a 4000m stretch of the Oklahoma River. The Hawkeyes qualified two varsity 8 boats and one varsity 4 to the grand final and one varsity 4 to the petite final Saturday night. All finals events are 500m sprints. The Hawkeyes had four open pair crews compete on Sunday morning.
On Saturday the crews experienced warmer temps than usual but overall raced in good conditions with sunny skies and a slight head wind. Kendra Klaczak, Louise Bensz, Molly Pollpeter, Annemarie Bernhard, Katy Kroll, Christine Allingham, Susie Stralina Laura Hallman and Beth Baustian placed third in the 1V8+ with a time of 13:32.8 to qualify for the grand final night race. The crew went on to place third in the grand final (1:35.4).
Iowa’s 2V8+ crew of Laurel Johnson, April Podbregar, Chloe Zwiacher, Erin Sodawasser, Lindsay Pollpeter, Hannah Klotz, Emily Karpinski, Erin Czupil, and Brianna Achs finished seventh in the morning session with a time of 14.01.9 to also qualify for the grand final. The boat went on to finish sixth overall in the grand final (1:40.2)
The Hawkeyes had two boats qualify for the night finals in the V4+. Klaczak, Stralina, Zwiacher, Podbregar and Achs teamed up for the 1V4+ and came in fifth with a time of 15:32.1 during the morning session, which qualified for the grand final. The quartet went on to post a sixth place finish at the grand final (1:50.9). Iowa’s 2V4+ consisting of Johnson, Sodawasser, Karpinski, Klotz and L. Pollpeter, placed 15th (16:10.3) in the morning to advance to the night petite final. The boat claimed a fourth place finish (1:53.7) at the petite final.
The Hawkeyes concluded the competition on Sunday with four crews competing in the open pairs, which all finished in the top 10. The weather conditions were windy with a tailwind during the first part and a cross-wind the last 2k. Kroll and Bernhard had the highest finish for the Hawkeyes. The pair placed third overall with a time of 17.12.7. Hallman and Czupil posted a sixth place finish (17.40.5), while Bensz and M. Pollpeter posted an eighth place finish (17.59.7). Allingham and Baustian finished ninth in a time of 18.01.9.
“As I said coming into this race, we wanted to use this race as a steeping stone for our progress,” said Head Coach Mandi Kowal. “What I was most pleased with was that every time we went on the water we improved our rowing. Whether it was a practice session or 4k piece. The team did a great job with their focus and intent to better their rowing. I was pleased to see the majority of the boats maintain their intensity down the course. We still have a long way to go and with the right approach we should be able to make an impact.”
The Hawkeyes return to action Oct. 9 in Rockford, Ill. at the Head of the Rock where the team will be wearing pink headbands to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Final Results
Collegiate 8+ Qualifier: 1) Stanford 13:16.9 2) Texas 13:26.1 3) IOWA 13:32.8 4) Oklahoma 13:40.2 7) IOWA 14:01.9
Collegiate 8+ 500m Sprint Grand Final: 1) Oklahoma 1:30.4 2) Stanford 1:30.6 3) IOWA 1:35.4 4) Tulsa 1:36.6 5) Oklahoma 1:37.4 6) IOWA 1:40.2
Collegiate 4+ Qualifier: 1) Texas 14:50.1 2) Stanford 14:56.6 5) IOWA 15:32.1 15) IOWA 16:10.3
Collegiate 4+ 500m Sprint Grand Final: 1) Stanford 1:46.2 2) Oklahoma 1:46.3 3) Kansas 1:47.9 4) Tulsa 1:48.5 5) Tulsa 1:49.8 6) IOWA 1:50.9
Collegiate 4+ 500m Spring Petite Final: 1) Oklahoma 1:48.9 2) Tulsa 1:51.2 3) Kansas 1:51.3 4) IOWA 1:53.7 5) Kansas 1:53.8 6) Tulsa 1:54.9
Collegiate Open Pairs: 1) USRowing Training Center- Oklahoma A 15:47.1 2) Oklahoma 17:05.7 3) IOWA 17:12.7 6) IOWA 17.40.5 8) IOWA 17:59.7 9) IOWA 18:01.9