Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch – 2017-18 | Hawk Talk Monthly — April 2018
ANN ARBOR, Mich — The No. 11 University of Iowa women’s rowing team raced against No. 18 Michigan State and No. 6 Michigan at the Big Ten Double Dual on Saturday on Belleville Lake.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Morning Session: Seven Hawkeye boats faced off against Michigan State in the morning session. Iowa got off to a slow start, with the II Novice Eight, I Novice Eight, and III Varsity Four falling to Michigan State. The II Varsity Four changed the momentum of the morning by crossing the finish line more than seven seconds ahead of the Spartans to give the Hawkeyes the first win of the morning. Iowa’s NCAA boat classes swept Michigan State, beginning with the I Varsity Four, which crossed five seconds ahead of the Spartans. The II Varsity Eight posted an impressive 13 second win while the I Varsity Eight ended the morning session with a 10-second margin, crossing in 6:17.7.
Afternoon Session: Iowa again contested all seven Big Ten boat classes against No. 6 Michigan in the afternoon session. In the early races, both the Novice Eights and the third and second varsity Fours fell to the Wolverines. In the first of the NCAA boat classes, the I Varsity Four fell to a strong Michigan crew. In the closest race of the day, the II Varsity Eight crew jumped out to an early lead and held off multiple charges from Michigan over the first 1500 meters of the 2000 meter course. Michigan’s attacks began to have an effect in the final quarter and they were able to pull even with 250 meters to go. At 150 meters, the Wolverines edged in front only to see the Hawks pull back level as the crews approached the line. At the finish, it was Michigan by a mere 0.3 seconds. In the final race of the day, the I Varsity Eight crew also got off to an impressive start, establishing a lead of just over a boat length at the first 500 meter mark. The Hawks continued to press, stretching their lead to two boat lengths by the 1000 meter mark and three boat lengths with 500 meters to go. At the finish, the Hawkeyes crossed more than 12 seconds in front to upset No. 6 Michigan.
HEAR FROM COACH CARTER
“There were some really good performances by our crews today, including wins in the 4+’s and some really good improvement from our Novice group. However, it’s hard to not shine a light on the exciting way our two varsity eights ended the racing this afternoon against an outstanding Michigan team. The 2V8+ event was a tremendous boat race that was won on the very last stroke and the 1V8+ win was really exciting for our group.
Overall, this was a good day for our program. We showed really well against two ranked teams so we’ll feel good about that on the trip home. We have another two great teams waiting for us next Saturday so we’ll need to shift our sights to preparing for that even before practice starts again on Monday.”
LINEUPS
II Novice Eight: Kathryn Raver, Elizabeth Keene, Reagan Mady, Madelyn Theut, Nicole Majerus, Keely Paus, Heidi Mentz, Emma Degen, Emily Steimel (coxswain)
I Novice Eight (morning): Eva Scheibe, Megan Willey, Nathalia Wellenreiter, Kayla Jensen, Izzy Bowman, Elena Waiglein, Tessa Walsh, Katie Rygh, Katherine Becker (coxswain)
I Novice Eight (afternoon): Eva Scheibe, Megan Willey, Nathalia Wellenreiter, Kayla Jensen, Izzy Bowman, Katie Rygh, Tessa Walsh, Elena Waiglein, Katherine Becker (coxswain)
III Varsity Four: Trisha Huerta, Hailey Weisensel, Andjela Milenkovic, Alexis Chamness, Elizabeth Pritchard (coxswain)
II Varsity Four: Allison Blevins, Carly Millerd, Alysson Wittmeyer, Paige Przybylski, Lisa Morales (coxswain)
I Varsity Four: Danielle Bender, Amelia Koehn, Amalie Millerd, Gemma Kerr, Laura Justis (coxswain)
II Varsity Eight: Claire Rutherford, Kasia Gniatczyk, Ashlynn Bauer, Megan Sprengeler, Baillie McCunn, Paige Schlapkohl, Zora Marinkovich, Rachel Canon, Faith Wieland (coxswain)
I Varsity Eight: Ashley Duda, Izzy Dolba, Kaelynn Heiberg, Hannah Greenlee, Hunter Koenigsfeld, Contessa Harold, Katie Pearson, Eve Stewart, Logan Jones (coxswain)
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes travel to Princeton, New Jersey, to compete against Princeton and Yale. Competition is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. (CT).
