Hawkeye Rowing Sends 6 Boats to B1G Finals

May 16, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The University of Iowa women’s rowing team advanced six of seven boats to finals with its efforts on day one of the Big Ten Championship at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Iowa swept Minnesota and Rutgers in all four races on Lilly Lake Saturday night, added a pair of victories over Michigan State in the 1V8+ and 1V4+, and recorded one against Michigan in the 1V8+.

The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten Championship action in heat two of the 1V8+ competition. Against Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, Iowa worked to a third place result in the heat with a time of 6:54.239. The crew, comprised of Nina Hendriks, Zoe Ribar, Morgan Grastorf, Lauren Subler, Jessica Streur, Cristy Hartman, Hannah Hawks, Beth Baustian, and Katie Brown, was even with Michigan State through 500-meters, but fought back for a two-second lead at the 1000-meter point.

The Hawkeyes maintained the edge in the second 1000-meter segment to finish ahead of the historically strong Spartans (6:55.910) for third. Indiana placed first in the heat with a time of 6:41.334, followed by runner-up Wisconsin in 6:45.709.

Overall in the 1V8+, the Hawkeyes finished fourth to advance to finals. Two-time defending national champion Ohio State (6:40.174), 2014 NCAA qualifier Indiana (6:41.334), and a team who has qualified for 10 of the last 11 NCAA Championships in Wisconsin (6:45.709) took the top three spots in the prelims.

Iowa’s 1V4+ crew excelled in heat one, finishing runner-up with a time of 7:57.722 after a strong second stretch in the final 1000-meters. The Hawkeyes were less than three seconds from Wisconsin (7:54.980), who won the heat, and bested third place Minnesota (8:16.671) by more than 20 seconds and fourth place Rutgers (8:48.839) by more than 50 seconds.

The 1V4+ boat, made up of Sarah Powell, Victoria Bricker, Bec Clayton, Kasia Gniatczyk, and Ellen Cranberg, earned a fifth place result overall to advance to finals on Sunday. The Buckeyes led the field in the event with a time of 7:39.199, followed by the Wolverines (7:51.439), Hoosiers (7:53.437), and Badgers (7:54.980).

The third Hawkeye crew to qualify for finals after Saturday races was the 1N8+ of Amy Schembari, Bianca DiBellonia, Baillie McCunn, Danielle Bender, Zora Marinkovich, Brenna Parke, Izzy Dolba, Ashley Duda, and Emma Hindes.

The boat finished third in heat one with a time of 7:18.375, just ahead of fourth place Rutgers (7:20.015). Wisconsin placed first (7:02.318) and Indiana (7:09.763) was the runner-up in the heat.

After taking into account the second heat, Iowa finished tied for fifth in 1N8+ standings with Michigan, as both crews crossed with a time of 7:18.375. Winning the 1N8+ was Wisconsin (7:02.318), followed by Ohio State (7:03.133), Michigan State (7:07.058), and Indiana (7:09.763).

In the second event on Saturday, Iowa’s 2V8+ fell behind early in heat two against Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan State crews and could not come back. The Hawkeye boat placed fourth in the heat, despite its strong effort in the second leg (7:03.487), less than two seconds shy of third place finisher Michigan State (7:01.520) and just over two seconds from runner-up Indiana (7:01.034). Wisconsin won the heat with a clip of 6:53.919.

The crew of Alyssa Armstrong, Rebecca Thompson, Gabrielle Watson, Kat Tillman, Kaelynn Heiberg, Gemma Kerr, Claire Benschoter, Madeline Anglin, and Destinee Gwee missed the cut for finals.

Four Big Ten programs advanced all seven of their crews to finals action on Sunday, including Ohio State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Iowa and Minnesota each saw six boats qualify, while Michigan State had three make the cut. Conference newcomer Rutgers did not have any crews move on.

Scoring is weighted and will be tallied based on Big Ten Championship finals results. The 1V8+ race carries the most weight followed in order by the 2V8+, 1V4+, 2V4+, 1N8+, 2N8+, and 3V4+.

Sunday action will begin at 6:30 a.m. (CT). For live results, visit regattatiming.com or follow @bigtenchamps on Twitter.

Line Ups
1V8+: Nina Hendriks, Zoe Ribar, Morgan Grastorf, Lauren Subler, Jessica Streur, Cristy Hartman, Hannah Hawks, Beth Baustian, Katie Brown (coxswain)

2V8+: Alyssa Armstrong, Rebecca Thompson, Gabrielle Watson, Kat Tillman, Kaelynn Heiberg, Gemma Kerr, Claire Benschoter, Madeline Anglin, Destinee Gwee (coxswain)

1V4+: Sarah Powell, Victoria Bricker, Bec Clayton, Kasia Gniatczyk, Ellen Cranberg (coxswain)

1N8+: Amy Schembari, Bianca DiBellonia, Baillie McCunn, Danielle Bender, Zora Marinkovich, Brenna Parke, Izzy Dolba, Ashley Duda, Emma Hindes (coxswain)