April 22, 2015
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THIS WEEK:
The University of Iowa women’s rowing team travels to Kansas City, Kansas, for the B1G/Big12 Challenge this Saturday and Sunday. The Hawkeyes will take on Kansas and Oklahoma in a full weekend of racing on Wyandotte County Lake.
RACE STRUCTURE:
For the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge, 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. The full day of racing will take place on Wyandotte Lake and will begin at 9:36 a.m. (CT) on Saturday morning with the 2N8+ from Oklahoma and Iowa.
Racing will be held in 12-minitue intervals, alternating between Iowa vs. Kansas and Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin in the morning session, through 1V8+ racing at 11:48 and 12 p.m. In the afternoon session, Iowa and Oklahoma will flight boats in the 2N8+ starting at 1:36 p.m., with an identical alternating format through the 1V8+ races at 3:48 and 4 p.m.
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SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
Oklahoma is fresh off a weekend of rowing at the Clemson Invite. The Sooners were lead by their 2V4+ crew, who collected a third place finish in its heat. The boat turned in a time of 7:36.8, besting boats from Penn, Indiana, Dartmouth and Duke. In the first session, Oklahoma recorded a third place finish and three fourth place finishes in its heats. The Sooners third varsity eight boat claimed third (7:18.5) to defeat Clemson and Duke.
Kansas had a strong showing in the Knect Cup on the weekend of April 11. The Jayhawks’ V8+ boat crossed with a time of 6:51.20, claiming a first-place finish in the Petite Final. Kansas’ V4+ boat had a strong showing, finishing third in the semifinal race with a time of 7:45.07. In the Petite Final, Kansas finished just behind Bucknell to place second in the event with a time of 7:47.83. Kansas’ 1V8+ boat was selected as the Big 12 Boat of the Week on April 15. The award-winning boat began the Knecht Cup with an impressive outing in their first heat, finishing in first place out of five schools with a time of 6:45.64.
LAST TIME OUT:
Iowa put on an outstanding performance at the Big Ten Double Dual in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on April 11. The Hawkeyes earned four victories against Michigan State, one win over No. 15 Indiana, and two over No. 7 Michigan. The Hawkeyes raced with fair conditions on Belleville Lake throughout the day, with sunshine and 10-12 mile per hour winds on the course. In the 1V4+ race, the Hawkeyes sent both the 1V and 2V crews to the line against Michigan State. The 1V4+ was the Spartan’s top-performing crews at the 2014 Big Ten Championships, which set the stage for challenging racing. Iowa hit its stride in the event with the Hawkeye crews finishing 15 seconds and 11.5 seconds ahead of Michigan State’s crew, respectively.
Iowa finished up the morning session with the 1V8+ race against Michigan State. Nina Hendriks, Zoe Ribar, Morgan Grastorf, Lauren Subler, Jessica Streur, Cristy Hartman, Hannah Hawks, Beth Baustian, and coxswain Katie Brown ended on a high note, topping their Big Ten foe once more with a 4.4 second margin to bring the Iowa’s morning session record to 4-3 and 4-2 against Michigan State. The 2V4+ kept things rolling with a come-from-behind win of three seconds over home-favorite, Michigan, and Indiana. The 2V4+ showed incredible grit and determination as they tracked down and passed a quality Michigan crew on their home course. The Hawkeyes finished a full 50 seconds ahead of the Hoosiers and posted the fastest time of any 4+ crew on the day.
BIG TEN ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS:
This year, BTN will televise the Big Ten Rowing Championships from Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis on Sunday, May 24 at 5 p.m. (CT). No. 1 Ohio State, the two-time defending national champion, will fight for its third-consecutive Big Ten title.
IN THE RANKINGS:
Iowa continues to receive votes in the CRCA/US Rowing Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes gained six new votes after their performance against Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana, bringing the total to seven.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Region Four
1 Ohio State
2 Wisconsin
3 Indiana
4 Michigan
5 Iowa
6 Minnesota
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 University of California, Berkeley
3 University of Virginia
4 Brown University
5 University of Washington
6 Stanford University
7 Washington State University
8 Princeton University
9 University of Wisconsin
10 Yale University
11 Indiana University
12 University of Texas
13 University of Michigan
14 Harvard-Radcliffe University
15 University of Southern California
16 University of California, Los Angeles
17 Syracuse University
18 Oregon State University
19 Gonzaga University
20 Cornell University
Other Receiving Votes: Minnesota (27), Notre Dame (25), Louisville (18), San Diego (17), Iowa (7), Northeastern (3).
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 Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to face off against Tennessee on May 2. The full day of racing will begin at 8 a.m. (CT).
