April 3, 2016
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BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — The University of Iowa women’s rowing team put on an outstanding performance Sunday at the Big Ten/ACC Double Dual in Bloomington, Indiana, winning three of seven events and finishing second overall against No. 15 Louisville and No. 12 Indiana.
“I think the racing went pretty well for us and I think our execution was at a predictable stage,” said third year head coach Andrew Carter after his team’s season-opening performance. “We weren’t really refined in some critical areas but that’s expected this early in the season and during our first outing. We’ll definitely be working on those areas.”
The Hawkeyes raced with fair conditions on Lake Lemon throughout the day, with sunshine and 10-15 mile per hour cross-winds on the course.
“The wind was a little bit of a problem because it slowed down the overall racing, but I think all the crews managed it reasonably well,” said Carter. “It wasn’t the greatest of racing conditions, but it was definitely fair.”
Iowa opened racing with a runner-up finish in the 1V8+. The Hawkeyes were edged by the Hoosiers by three seconds, but withstood a late push by the Cardinals for its first upset of a ranked crew this season.
In the 2V8+ race, the Hawkeyes placed second once again in another tight race. All three crews finished within four seconds of one another, with Indiana crossing first, followed by Iowa and Louisville.
The three 1V4+ crews got off the line together and Iowa methodically moved out on the field over the next few hundred meters to establish a solid lead. The Hawkeye crew finished a comfortable 6.6 seconds ahead of runner-up Louisville and 7.1 seconds in front of Indiana.
With winds picking up, Iowa battled hard in the 2V4+, but finished third in the field. Louisville crossed the line first, followed by Indiana and Iowa.
In novice racing, Iowa was explosive from the start. In the 1N8+, Iowa and Indiana went up against Louisville’s 3V8+ boat. The Hawkeyes got out on the field early, gaining open water by the 500-meter mark. At the finish, Iowa crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Louisville and 14 seconds ahead of Indiana.
In the 2N8+, the Hawkeyes posted a dominant victory by 40 seconds over Big Ten rival Indiana in a one-on-one match race.
In the final race of the competition, the Hawkeyes’ 3V4+ crew started well, leaving Indiana and Louisville to duke it out for second. The Cardinals put together a late surge and overtook Iowa in the final quarter of the course, leaving the the Hawkeyes second with a 13-second margin over the Hoosiers.
“In general, I thought the results were encouraging. I think they showed that we can race with a couple of the best teams in the country, and do so effectively,” said Carter. “So overall I think the racing was pretty solid and we can clearly see the spots where we can improve. The job now is to make sure make make those improvements.”
The Hawkeyes continue to compete against top competition on Saturday, April 9 when they welcome No. 13 Wisconsin and Minnesota for a double-dual at Lake Macbride in Solon, Iowa.
Line Ups
1V8+: Nina Hendriks, Zoe Ribar, Ashley Duda, Kaelynn Heiberg, Izzy Dolba, Cristy Hartman, Hannah Hawks, Beth Baustian, Katie Brown (coxswain)
2V8+: Rebecca Thompson, Gemma Kerr, Jessica Streur, Victoria Bricker, Morgan Grastorf, Kat Tillman, Claire Benschoter, Madeline Anglin, Georgia Sanderson (coxswain)
1V4+: Baillie McCunn, Danielle Bender, Sarah Powell, Bianca DiBellonia, Faith Wieland (coxswain)
2V4+: Ameilia Koehn, Trisha Huerta, Lauren Subler, Ashlyn Bauer, Ellen Cranberg (coxswain)
3V4+: Arika Henry, Casey Figueredo, Skylar McSorley, Rachael Jipp, Maria Pritchard (coxswain)
1N8+: Denika Kelsall, Rachel Valentine, Andjela Milenkovic, Megan Sprengeler, Lou Krieger-Coen, Emma Moores, Hannah Bristowe, Rachel Canon, Logan Jones (coxswain)
2N8+: Hannah Gruenwald, Claire Huguelet, Carly Millerd, Allison Blevins, Sam McElwain, Paige Schlapkohl, Kyla Dickey, Kate Frye, Elizabeth Pritchard (coxswain)