April 14, 2016
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OFF TO CALIFORNIA
The University of Iowa women’s rowing team travels to Gold River, California, to compete in the Lake Natoma Invitational at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center April 16-17. No. 16 Iowa will go up against No. 1 Brown, No. 2 California Berkeley, No. 7 Stanford, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 15 Gonzaga, No. 18 Notre Dame, Sacramento State, and Loyola Marymount Los Angeles. Competition is set to begin Saturday and end following a Sunday morning session.
REGATTA SCHEDULE
The Hawkeyes are set to race in the 1V8+, 2V8+, and 1V4+ against Notre Dame and California Berkeley in the morning competition on Saturday, while the 2V4+ is scheduled to face California Berkeley and Sacramento State. In afternoon competition, the 1V8+, 2V8+, and 1V4+ boats will go up against Sacramento State and Brown. Sunday racing opponents include Wisconsin, Gonzaga, and Notre Dame in the 1V8+, 2V8+, and 1V4+.FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can keep up with the regatta on Twitter @Iowa Rowing. A link to a live stream will also be tweeted out during weekend racing.HOMERUN AT HOME
The Hawkeyes hosted their first home event since the 2014 season against No. 12 Wisconsin and Minnesota on April 9 at Lake Macbride in Solon, Iowa. Iowa fell to Wisconsin, 47-25, in the morning session before rebounding with a win over Minnesota, 42-30, in the afternoon session. The 3V4+ crew excelled with a 35.8 second winning margin over the Gophers to highlight competition in the second session. The boat, comprised of Arika Henry, Hannah Rochford, Skylar McSorley, Rachel Jipp and coxswain Marija Pritchard, posted the largest margin of victory on the day. Iowa’s 1V8+,1V4+, 2V4+, 1N8+, and 2N8+ crews also won their respective races to help secure the win over the Gophers.SPARKLING START
Iowa opened the spring season with a bang, winning three of seven events and finishing second in front of No. 15 Louisville and behind No. 12 Indiana, a team that finished 11th in the last two NCAA Championships, at the Big Ten/ACC Double Dual on April 3. The 1V4+ crew of Baillie McCunn, Danielle Bender, Sarah Powell, Bianca DiBellonia, and Faith Wieland (coxswain) posted the first, first place result for the Hawkeyes this year, finishing 6.6 seconds ahead of runner-up Louisville and 7.1 seconds in front of Indiana. The 1N8+ and 2N8+ crews dominated their fields, finishing first by 10 seconds and 40 seconds, respectively.BIG TEN STRENGTH
Six of eight rowing programs in the Big Ten Conference are represented in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, with five top 20 teams and two collecting votes. Three-time defending NCAA Champion Ohio State is ranked No. 4, followed by No. 10 Michigan, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 13 Indiana, and No. 16 Iowa. Minnesota is receiving votes in the most recent release. The conference saw four programs compete at the NCAA Championships last year and boast the national champion in each of the last three seasons.FALL = FULL OF HIGHLIGHTS
? The Hawkeyes met several training benchmarks and made strides in the fall season.
? Iowa opened at the Head of the Des Moines, earning the collegiate trophy with top finishes in women’s collegiate eight, collegiate four, and novice eight events. The team’s top eight posted the fastest time across all levels of the competition field.
? The Hawkeyes also hosted elite competition in Indiana, welcoming the Hoosiers for two days of scrimmage action. The top two varsity eight crews from each program raced in a time trial, or head race, format on day one. The Hawkeyes held their own, topping Indiana in each 4,000-meter piece.
? The second day of scrimmaging included five 1,000-meter match races. The Iowa varsity eights traded wins with the Hoosiers, while the Hawkeye fours dominated the day, winning all five races in the 1V4+ and 2V4+ divisions.
? Seeing a top program nationally prepared the Hawkeyes for their next challenge at the historic Head of the Charles Regatta. The team’s top varsity eight and four crews headed east to for the first time since 2007 and met the challenge with impressive results.
? The varsity four placed sixth overall and third among collegiate crews behind Virginia and Brown, teams that placed first and third in the event at the NCAA Championship in 2015. Iowa’s varsity eight placed ninth in a field of 32, which also included top NCAA programs from all the elite conferences. Both finishes were the best ever recorded by Hawkeye crews in the history of the 51-year-old event.
? Iowa also sent crews to the Jayhawk Jamboree, jumping up a level to fill the roster spots left open by the student-athletes rowing in Boston.
? In the varsity eight, the Hawkeyes faced top crews from Kansas, Kansas State, and Tulsa, and earned an impressive third place finish. In the varsity four, Iowa’s top crew was the runner-up. As at the Head of the Des Moines Regatta, the novice eight capped the day with a win.ELITE INVITATIONS
Two Iowa rowers received elite invitations to national rowing camps and had the opportunity to put the Tigerhawk on the map in the summer months. Morgan Grastorf and Gemma Kerr were selected to attend the 2015 U.S. Women’s Under 23 National Team Selection Camp and the 2015 Junior Canadian National Team Selection Camp, respectively.BIG TEN STRENGTH
Seven of eight rowing programs in the Big Ten Conference are represented in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, with five top 20 teams and two collecting votes. Three-time defending NCAA Champion Ohio State is ranked No. 3, followed by No. 10 Michigan, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 13 Indiana, and No. 16 Iowa. Michigan State and Minnesota are both receiving votes in the most recent release. The conference saw four programs compete at the NCAA Championships last year and boast the national champion in each of the last three seasons.INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS
Iowa was visible in international competition last summer with Gemma Kerr and Hannah Bristowe representing Canada at the CanAmMex Regatta in Mexico City from July 6-11.A LOOK BACK: BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY
The Hawkeyes finished sixth at the 2015 Big Ten Championship held at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. Iowa’s point total of 79 is the second-highest scoring performance at the Big Ten Championships in program history, and the highest since 2003 when the Hawkeyes totaled 99 points for a fourth place result. Iowa’s third varsity four posted the top finish with a third place result, while the first varsity four and second varsity four crews each finished fourth. The first varsity eight and first novice eight both placed sixth in the field. Following the competition, Beth Baustian (first team) and Cristy Hartman (second team) earned All-Big Ten honors, while Zoe Ribar received Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award.CRCA AWARDS ROUNDUP
Eight members of the Iowa rowing team earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association recognition in 2015. Morgan Grastorf earned her second consecutive first team All-Central Region nod, while Victoria Bricker (Health & Human Physiology), Ellen Cranberg (English), Madeline Anglin (Nursing), Katie Brown (Psychology), Destinee Gwee(Biochemistry), Gabrielle Watson (Speech and Hearing Science), and Hannah Hawks (Journalism & Mass Communication) were named CRCA Scholar Athletes. To qualify for the honor student-athletes must possess a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher, race in 75 percent of Iowa’s races, and be in their second, third or fourth year of eligibility. Anglin, Brown, and Gwee were also honored as scholar athletes in 2014, while Watson received the third honor of her career.THE CARTER FILE
Andrew Carter was named the third head coach in University of Iowa rowing history 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 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.In 2015, the Hawkeyes continued to take steps forward. The Iowa rowing program garnered votes in the polls and closed the year ranked fifth among Region Four of the NCAA. Freshman Gemma Kerr was invited to attend the 2015 Junior Canadian National Team Selection Camp and sophomore Morgan Grastorf was selected to attend the U.S. Women’s Under 23 National Team Selection Camp. The Hawkeyes tallied 79 points to finish sixth at the 2015 Big Ten Championship. Iowa’s point total marked the second highest scoring performance at the Big Ten Championships in program history, and the highest since 2003 when the Hawkeyes totaled 99 points to finish fourth. After the competition, senior Beth Baustian earned first team All-Big Ten recognition, junior Cristy Hartman earned second team All-Big Ten honors, and junior Zoe Ribar was Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award recipient. Grastorf earned her second consecutive first team All-Central Region honor, while Victoria Bricker, Ellen Cranberg, Madeline Anglin, Katie Brown, Destinee Gwee, Gabrielle Watson, and Hannah Hawks were named CRCA Scholar Athletes. Anglin, Brown, and Gwee were also honored as scholar athletes in 2014, while Watson received the third honor of her career.
During his coaching career, Carter has earned more than 50 championship medals, and over the last 14 years, he has coached eight All-Americans and 36 National Scholar-Athletes. Before becoming a Hawkeye, he turned Miami into a nationally-ranked program, and led Clemson to its first-ever ACC title and NCAA Championship appearance.
UP NEXT
Iowa is set to travel to the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold River, California. It is a two day regatta, stretching from April 16-17.