April 25, 2012
THIS WEEK: The University of Iowa women’s rowing team will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday, April 28 to compete at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Hawkeyes will take on Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia, and will compete in the Varsity 8’s, Varsity 4’s and Novice 8’s.
THE RACE: The competition will take place at the Indianapolis Rowing Center on the 2,000-meter course on Eagle Creek Reservoir. Action is set to start at 8:30 a.m. (ET)
The Eagle Creek Reservoir was the site of the 1987 rowing events at the Pan American Games, the 1994 World Rowing Championships, the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, and it has hosted the US Rowing National Championship Regatta 13 times since 1987. The Eagle Creek Reservoir will also be the site for the 2012 Big Ten Rowing Championships on May 13.
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES: Become fans of the official Iowa rowing page by going to http://on.fb.me/ySA6K6 to follow the Hawkeyes on Facebook. Fans can also follow the black and gold on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/iowarowing.
LAST EVENT: The Hawkeyes posted four wins over Alabama in the Varsity 8, 2nd Varsity 8, Varsity 4 and Novice 8. The crews raced against a slight current and a variable cross/crosshead wind at about 4 to 10 mph for each race.
Iowa’s Novice 8 crew posted the first victory of the day. The boat finished ahead of Alabama (7:30.6) by nearly 22 seconds with a time of 7:08.7. One of the closest races during the dual was the 2nd Varsity 8 contest. The Hawkeyes posted their second victory against the Crimson Tide in the event by crossing the finish first at time of 6:54.8. Alabama finished in a time of 7:01.2.
Following the 2nd Varsity 8’s win, the Varsity 4 crew posted a winning time of 7:48.9 over Alabama (8:05.7). Iowa’s only loss of the day was the 2nd Varsity 4. Iowa raced in a time of 8:10.0, but was defeated by Alabama who posted a faster time of 8:03.1.
The Varsity 8 crew of Zoe Lewis, Annemarie Bernhard, Katie Kroll, Chloe Zwiacher, Molly Pollpeter, Louise Bensz, Suzie Stralina, Laura Hallman and Erin Czupil posted the best time by an Iowa Varsity 8 in over five years. Iowa finished ahead of Alabama (6:49.4) by nearly 11 seconds with a time of 6:38.0
Home of the hawkeyes: The P. Sue Beckwith, M.D., Boathouse was dedicated September 18, 2009. The state of the art facility is located within the city of Iowa City’s Terrell Mill Park, next to the Iowa River.
HEAD COACH: Mandi Kowal is in her 18th 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 U.S. Rowing Association and was inducted into the United States Rowing Hall of Fame in 1997.