April 8, 2015
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THIS WEEK:
The University of Iowa women’s rowing team continues the regular season with conference competition against tough No. 7 Michigan and Michigan State crews in Big Ten Double Dual action in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this Saturday. Two of the three teams qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2014, with Michigan and Indiana earning eighth and 11th national finishes, respectively.
RACE STRUCTURE:
For Big Ten conference competition, a point system is used to determine a dual-meet winner. Points are awarded in each boat class (both varsity eights, varsity fours, and novice eights) to determine a winner. In addition, Michigan and Iowa will each field 3V4+ and will race one another in both sessions. The full day of racing will take place on Belleville Lake and will begin at 8 a.m. (CT) on Saturday morning with the 2N8+ from Michigan State and Iowa.
Racing will be held in 12-minitue intervals, alternating between Iowa vs. Michigan State and Michigan vs. Indiana in the morning session, through 1V8+ racing at 10:12 and 10:24 a.m. In the afternoon session, Iowa and Michigan will flight boats in the 2N8+ starting at 12:12 p.m., with an identical alternating format through the 1V8+ races at 2:12 and 2:24 p.m.
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SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
No. 7 Michigan collected wins over Clemson and No. 4 Virginia at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge & Navy event on April 4. The team won Boat of the week conference honors after the 1V8+ edged Clemson and Navy in the morning session with a time of 6:20.90. Bested No. 4 Virginia in the final race of the afternoon with a time of 6:22.36. Last year, Michigan finished second at the Big Ten Championships, with four athletes named to All-Big Ten Teams.
No. 15 Indiana hosted West Virginia in an informal scrimmage on Lake Lemon April 4. While no formal scores were kept, the crews gained experience in a competitive environment and raced boats in perfect conditions. Iowa faced off against Indiana in the fall for an informal scrimmage on Oct. 4. The margins were very close with Iowa finishing ahead of the two Indiana crews on three of the four intervals contested. The fourth interval, Iowa finished between the two Hoosier boats. Last year, the Hoosiers took fourth at Big Ten Championships and 11th at NCAA Championships, with their strongest performance from their 1V8+ (6:38.06).
Michigan State fell to No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 18 Louisville during a tough race on 2014 Big Ten Champions Ohio State’s home course in Columbus, Ohio on March 28. The Spartan’s top performance of the competition came from the N8+ boat, which swept all of its races. Last year, the Spartans finished fifth at Big Ten Championships, with their strongest performance from their 1V4+ (7:35.62).
LAST TIME OUT:
Iowa battled through tough conditions to flight crews against historically strong Cornell and No. 6-ranked Yale in season-opening action on April 3 at the Cayuga Inlet in Ithaca, New York. In the first session, the Hawkeyes placed second in every event behind No. 6-ranked Yale, but ahead of a storied program in Cornell — an early sign of strength for Iowa rowing against strong Ivy League programs, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their conference championship a season ago. Session I ended one event early, as dark- ness and debris pushed the final 1V8+ race to Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. with Session II to follow.
The following morning, the Hawkeyes’ top V8+ crew battled through inclement weather and debris on the 2,000-meter course to finish third overall with a time of 6:11.40. Yale crossed the finish line first with a time of 5:55.60, followed by runner-up Cornell, clocking a time of 6:03.20. The remainder of the regatta schedule was cancelled following the event due to unsafe rowing conditions.
AN ELITE INVITATION:
Sophomore Morgan Grastorf — a member of the 1V8+ crew — was invited to attend the 2014 USRowing Women’s Pre-Elite Camp in Princeton, New Jersey. The camp, which began on June 8 and continues through June 22, grooms up-and-coming rowers for the national teams and is a great honor in the rowing realm. Grastorf was one of eight freshmen and one of 16 student-athletes selected to attend the camp.
ALL-AMERICAN DEBUT:
Sophomore Morgan Grastorf ended her first year as a rower on a high note, as she was named to the 2014 Pocock All-America Second Team. She is the third rower to earn an All-America award at Iowa since 2006. Grastorf also earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Associations (CRCA) recognition as a first team All-Central Region pick and was selected to attend the USRowing Women’s Pre-Elite Camp in Princeton, New Jersey. She was a successful basketball player at Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois and was recruited to row by the Hawkeyes without prior sport experience.
B1G CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS:
The Hawkeyes finished seventh at the 2014 Big Ten Championship at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Indi- ana. The 2N8 (7:44.997), 1N8 (7:28.030), 3V4 (8:21.787), 2V4 (7:55.662) and 2V8 (7:00.950) crews placed sixth in the championship regatta, while the 1V8 finished seventh (6:53.982). After the competition, junior Zoe Ribar earned first team All-Big Ten recognition, junior Lauren Subler earned second team All-Big Ten honors and senior Gabrielle Watson received Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award.
CRCA AWARDS ROUNDUP:
Six members of the UI rowing program earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) recognition in 2014. Sophomore Morgan Grastorf earned first team All-Central Region recognition, while juniors Madeline Anglin (nursing) and Katie Brown (psychology) and seniors Mackenzie Norton (international studies – development), Destinee Gwee (biochemistry) and Gabrielle Watson (speech and hearing science) were named CRCA Scholar Athletes. All-Region selections were evaluated on the strength of their team’s regional finish, coach recommendations and 2,000-meter erg score. Scholar Athletes owned a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, raced in 75 percent or more of competitions and were in their second, third or fourth year of eligibility. Norton and Watson were also honored as Scholar Athletes a season ago.
CLASSROOM SUCCESS:
Sixteen rowing student-athletes — a program most since 2011 — were named Academic All-Big Ten for their dedication in the classroom following the 2014 season. Honorees had to have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at Iowa. Juniors Madeline Anglin (nursing), Claire Benschoter (nursing interest), Katie Brown (psychology), Nina Hendriks (mathematics), Skylar McSorley (speech and hearing science), Zoe Ribar (human physiology), Jessica Streur (English) and Lauren Subler (human physiology); seniors Brianna Achs (journalism and mass communications), Alyssa Armstrong (leisure studies), Beth Baustian (health and human physiology), Destinee Gwee (biochemistry/Asian languages and literatures), Mackenzie Norton (international studies/economics) and Gabrielle Watson (speech and hearing science); and Iowa graduates Sarah Bartlett (psychology) and Laura Hallman (interdepartmental studies) were recognized.
HEAD COACH Andrew Carter:
Andrew Carter was named the third head coach in program history for the University of Iowa rowing program in July 2013. In his first season at the helm, Carter helped the Hawkeyes attract the attention of the rowing community and receive votes in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing Coaches Poll throughout the season. Freshman Morgan Grastorf — who began the season as a novice — garnered Pocock All-America Second Team and All-Central Region First Team recognition. She was also invited to attend the 2014 USRowing Women’s Pre-Elite Camp in June, which grooms up-and-coming rowers for the national teams. Following the Big Ten Championship, sophomore Zoe Ribar was named first team All-Big Ten, sophomore Lauren Subler was named second team All-Big Ten and junior Gabrielle Watson received Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award.
The 2V4 crew of junior Rachel Crosley, freshman Kasia Gniatczyk, freshman Bec Clayton, sophomore Skylar McSorley and sophomore coxswain Rachel Chambers were recognized as Big Ten Boat of the Week following their first place result in the season opening regatta at Clemson. It marked Iowa’s first weekly conference honor since April 15, 2008 and just the second boat of the week nod for Iowa all-time. The Hawkeyes performance at Tennessee in the regular season finale highlighted the year, as Iowa defeated the Lady Vols in all five events of the regatta for the sweep. Iowa closed out 2014 with a seventh place finish at the Big Ten Championship at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Hawkeyes also excelled in the classroom with five earning CRCA Scholar Athlete honors and 16 receiving Academic All-Big Ten recognition. Mackenzie Norton and Skylar McSorley (4.0) were also named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. During his coaching career, Carter has earned more than 50 championship medals, and over the last 13 years, he has coached eight All-Americans and 29 National Scholar-Athletes. Before becoming a Hawkeye, he turned Miami into a nationally-ranked program, and led Clemson to its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference title and NCAA Championship appearance.
CRCA/USROWING COACHES POLL
Women’s NCAA Division I Rankings
1 Ohio State University
2 Brown University
3 University of California, Berkeley
4 University of Virginia
5 University of Washington
6 Stanford University
7 University of Michigan
8 Princeton University
9 Yale University
10 University of Southern California
11 Washington State University
12 University of Texas
13 Harvard-Radcliffe University
14 University of California, Los Angeles
15 Indiana University
16 University of Notre Dame
17 Oregon State University
18 University of Wisconsin
19 University of Minnesota
20 University of Louisville
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES:
A member of the Iowa rowing staff will offer interactive Twitter content live at every regatta this season via @iowarowing. This feature gives Hawkeye fans the opportunity to stay up to date on the latest news and scores during every regatta.
Web Address: hawkeyesports.com (check the schedule page for live stats and live streams)
Facebook: facebook.com/IowaWomensRowing
Twitter: twitter.com/iowarowing
UP NEXT:
The Hawkeyes will travel to Kansas City, Kansas, for the B1G/Big12 Challenge on April 25-26. Iowa will take on Wisconsin, Kansas, and Oklahoma in a full weekend of racing.
