Iowa Rowing Opens Spring Slate at Pac-12 Invitational

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THIS WEEK
The No. 17 University of Iowa women’s rowing team travels to Redwood City, California, to compete in the Pac-12 Invitational against No. 2 Cal, No. 10 Stanford, and No. 12 USC. No. 4 Princeton, No. 18 Michigan State and Louisville will be competing as well. Competition is scheduled to begin Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT) at Redwood Shores.

RACE SCHEDULE (SATURDAY)

RACE SCHEDULE (SUNDAY)

FOLLOW ALONG
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.

LAST TIME OUT

• Iowa’s Championship 4+ crew finished sixth overall at the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 22 in a strong field that had the top four crews breaking the course record.
• The Hawkeye’s Championship 8+ crew notched an eighth-place finish among university entries in a field that boasted some of the best collegiate teams in the nation.

SCOUTING CAL

• The Bear’s swept all four events at the San Diego Crew Classic on March 25.
• The I Varsity Eight, II Varsity Eight, and I Varsity Four crews defeated Texas to win their respective events.

SCOUTING STANFORD

• The Cardinal’s varsity eight crew defeated UCLA and San Diego State on March 3.
• Stanford’s second varsity eight came in second behind UCLA.
• The varsity four “A” boat defeated UCLA, the varsity four “B” boat, and San Diego State.

SCOUTING USC

• The Trojans I Varsity Eight and II Varsity Eight crew posted third-place finishes, behind Cal and Texas, at the San Diego Crew Classic on March 25.
• The I Varsity Four crew finished in sixth-place.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

• Michigan State finished second behind Harvard/Radcliffe in every race of the morning session except the Novice Eight Crew at the Ivy League/Big Ten Double Dual on March 24.
• In the afternoon session, Michigan State placed second to Yale in every race.

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals grabbed one win and posted three second-place finishes at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational on March 18.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
The Tigers defeated Brown and Michigan to retain the Class of 1987 Trophy.

HISTORIC SEASON
The 2017 season was historic for the University of Iowa women’s rowing program. The Hawkeyes broke their national poll record four times throughout the season, peaking at No. 11 in the country. They also broke the team point record at the Big Ten Championships on May 14, scoring 116 points to tie for fourth place. The team was selected to the NCAA Championships for the second time in program history, ending a 16-year drought dating back to 2001.

REGIONAL STAFF OF THE YEAR
The University of Iowa women’s rowing staff was named the 2017 Region 4 Staff of the Year by the College Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA). The Regional Staff of the Year Award recognizes a staff that had outstanding success during the season, demonstrated great team improvement from the prior season, fulfilled the team’s potential, and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach.

CRCA SCHOLAR ATHLETES
Six University of Iowa rowing student-athletes — Victoria Bricker, Kaelynn Heiberg, Gemma Kerr, Rachel Canon, Logan Jones, and Georgia Sanderson — were named 2017 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar Athletes. To qualify for the honor, student-athletes must maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher, race in 75 percent of their team’s races, and be in their second, third, or fourth year of eligibility.

B1G DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS
Seven rowers — Allison Blevins, Rachel Canon, Kaelynn Heiberg, Gemma Kerr, Carly Millerd, Elizabeth Pritchard, and Georgia Sanderson — were named 2017 Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholars. Heiberg, Millerd, and Sanderson maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2016-17 academic term. Athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and have a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school.

ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
15 University of Iowa rowers — Danielle Bender, Allison Blevins, Victoria Bricker, Rachel Canon, Kaelynn Heiberg, Logan Jones, Laura Justis, Gemma Kerr, Baillie McCunn, Sarah Powell, Elizabeth Pritchard, Georgia Sanderson, Megan Sprengeler, Kat Tillman, and Faith Wieland — were named to the 2017 Spring Academic All-Big Ten team. To be eligible for an Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.

STAFF CHANGES
Natasia Giles joined the Hawkeye staff in July as an assistant coach. Giles joins the Hawkeyes after a four-year coaching stint at Texas. She spent her first two years as a volunteer assistant coach where her duties included recruiting and training novice athletes. She was promoted to graduate assistant coach in 2015 and held that position for two years. As a graduate assistant, Giles let the 1V4 boat to a fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships and helped transition the novice athletes to varsity competition.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face off with Big Ten opponents Michigan and Michigan State. Competition is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. (CT).