Oct. 30, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s rowing team hosted the Head of the Iowa Sunday afternoon. Hawkeye fans gathered at the P. Sue Beckwith Boathouse and City Park along the Iowa River to cheer on the Hawkeyes at their only home event this season. Iowa raced against Wisconsin, Minnesota, Creighton, Colorado and Drake.
The Hawkeyes started off the event with the varsity 8+. Iowa’s team of Kendra Klaczak, Louise Bensz, Molly Pollpeter, Annemarie Bernhard, Katy Kroll, Christine Allingham, Susie Stralina, Laura Hallman and Beth Baustian placed third overall with a time of 14:23.173. The crew finished behind Wisconsin (13:47.202) and Minnesota (14:11.173). Iowa’s `B’ boat finished 10th overall (14:51.608), while the `C’ boat finished 12th (15:30.173).
“In our 1st eight something was just missing,” Kowal said. “They rowed really well in Oklahoma, almost beyond themselves. The race in Oklahoma was probably the best head race I’ve seen out of an Iowa crew. I didn’t see that today. It wasn’t lack of effort, just a timing issue. We’ve been battling injuries, so we haven’t our lineups together very much. In rowing, you really have to sync up together to be dialed in.
“Our 3rd eight rowed beyond themselves today and that was fun to see, Kowal added. “When I looked at them, they really caught my attention.”
Following, the varsity 8+, Iowa’s `B’ varsity 4+ boat consisting of Klaczak, Erin Sodawasser, Emily Karpinski, April Podbregar and Chloe Zwiacher claimed a fifth place finish with a time of 16:02.366. The Hawkeyes also had boats finish ninth (16:21.712) and 14th (17:07.359) in the event. Iowa’s only novice 4+ boat of Sarah Bartlett, Catherine Hoover, Ballard, Ashley Horne and Paige Rankin posted a fifth place finish in 18:12.103.
“Our 1st four that came across had the exact look that we are looking for,” Kowal said. “I was excited to see that.”
Clare Simms, Rachel Crosley, Anna Lind, Ethen, Mackenzie Norton, Molly Strieker, Noah Meade, Lauren Gonzalez and Armstrong were members of Iowa’s `A’ novice 8+ boat, which placed third with a time of 15:00.672. The `B’ boat came in seventh with a time of 16:02.520.
“The novice eights performed very well,” Kowal said. “We had two crews medal and that’s a good result.”
The Hawkeyes concluded the day with the women’s open pair. Bernhard and Stralina recorded a sixth place finish with a time of 16:32.390. Kroll and Allingham finished eighth (16:37.570), while Bensz and Baustian finished 10th (16:44.538). Aside from the competition, Kowal was thrilled at the atmosphere surrounding the Head of the Iowa Sunday.
“The overall event went extremely well,” Kowal said. “It was a festive atmosphere in City Park. Having the Scott Family Video Board over in the park was a great addition, our announcing was awesome and it was just a great day at the event.”
The Head of the Iowa concluded the fall season for the Hawkeyes. Iowa will return to action in the spring, starting Mar. 17 in Clemson, S.C., to take on Clemson, Syracuse, Boston University, Purdue, Marist and Indiana.
“This isn’t where I want to be and I’m sure the team feels the same way but it’s a stepping stone for the winter season,” Kowal said. “We have a relatively new crew in terms of our varsity so we have a lot of reps to get in during the winter. We have enough information to take into the winter and we will focus on specific things in order to improve.”
For complete race results click the PDF located at the top of the page.