Oct. 28, 2012
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s rowing team wrapped up the 2012 fall season by hosting the annual Head of the Iowa. The event was held on the Iowa River in front of hundreds of supporters in City Park.
Iowa started off the event with three boats in the women’s varsity 8. Iowa’s boat A finished in third place with a time of 13:45.359, behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. Iowa’s boat B finished in eighth place with a time of 14:29.383 and Iowa’s boat C finished in 11th place with a time of 15:00.481. Three of the Wisconsin boats entered the race as lightweights and finished in sixth, seventh and 13th place, respectively.
“We had some very good teams out here today,” Head coach Steve Pritzker said. “Wisconsin was 10th at the Head of the Charles a few weeks ago, behind a few national teams. I thought our athletes competed hard, but also saw what it’s going to take in order to make that next jump.”
The Hawkeyes entered the women’s novice 4’s with three boats. Unfortunately, boat A was not able to finish due to a broken skeg during the race. Wisconsin took the top two spots, while Iowa’s boat B finished in third place with a time of 17:16.065. Boat C finished in seventh place with a time of 18:46.389.
Iowa had four boats compete in the women’s varsity 4’s. Boat A finished in third place with a time of 15:28.876 behind two Wisconsin boats. Boat B took sixth place in 16:02.886, followed by boat C with a time of 16:03.996. Boat D took 12th place with a time of 16:45.596.
Iowa entered the women’s novice 8’s with three boats. Boat A finished in seventh place with a time of 15:39.365. Boat B took 11th place with a time of 16:37.680 and boat C followed in 12th place with a time of 16:43.368.
Iowa had four boats in the women’s 2-, with boat A taking first place with a time of 16:41.653. Boat D took third place with a time of 17:18.637, followed by boat C in fifth place with a time of 17:49.895. Boat B finished in ninth place with a time of 18:38.148.
The Hawkeye A and B boats were the only two entries in the women’s 2x, with boat A finishing in first place with a time of 16:59.079 while boat B finished in second place with a time of 19:08.779.
In the final event, Iowa had the only two boats entered in the women’s 1x. Boat A finished in first place with a time of 19:24.231, followed by boat B in second place with a time of 20:42.262.
With the fall season in the books, Pritzker was pleased with the effort his athletes brought to training.
“With a coaching staff comes new style, new technique, new training and a new approach,” Pritzker said. “In the fall, we go from zero to 60 and just start competing. There isn’t a lot of time to get settled into a new system. The most important improvements have come off the water; attitude, work ethic and desire. Those things are starting to show and I’m very happy about that.”
Sunday marked the first Head of the Iowa for Pritzker, and he was thrilled with the support from the Hawkeye fans.
“It’s really cool coming around the turn about halfway through and hearing this huge roar,” Pritzker said. “It’s great for our athletes and our fan support is tremendous. We are going to expand this regatta into something bigger and make it an event that people really want to attend. You saw the inklings of that today.”
Iowa Lineups at Head of the Iowa
N4 Bow #49 – Charlotte Small, LeBlanc, Victoria Mertens, Kristi Rasmussen, Richards
N4 Bow #52 – Mitts, Claire Benschoter, Laura Neuzil, Madeline Anglin
N4 Bow #57 – Lyons, Katelyn Sobotka, Greif, Lauren Subler, Kavan
N8 Bow #150 – Katie Brown, Mitts, Madeline Anglin, Laura Neuzil, Claire Benschoter, Lauren Subler, Betsy Lawson, Victoria Mertens, Kristi Rasmussen
N8 Bow #154 – Charlotte Small, Richards, Rafferty, Katelyn Sobotka, Greif, Deanna Arps, Stecker, Peters, Emily Miksch
N8 Bow #162 – Doll, Slife, Skylar McSorley, Bubley, Emma Ramirez, Hannah Rochford, Howe, Lauren Rice