UW Women's Openweights Second at Big Tens
May 01, 2004 | Women's Rowing
The No. 13 Wisconsin women's openweight rowers placed second at the 2004 Big Ten Rowing Championships, Saturday, the school's highest finish at the five-year old event.
The Badgers collected 115 points to place second. No. 10 Michigan, now the winner of four Big Ten rowing titles, won with 128 points. No. 1 Ohio State took third with 112 points, one better than No. 7 Michigan State, who earned 111 points on the day.
The championship came down to the final race of the day, the varsity eight. With one event remaining, Michigan State's 75 points gave it a five-point cushion over the second-place Badgers. Michigan was third with 65 points, followed by Ohio State with 58.
The winner of the varsity eight would receive 63 points, followed by 54, 45 and 36 points for the second-through-fourth-place finishers, respectively, in the grand final of the event. Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State were all still in contention for the team title when the contest got underway, but fourth-seeded Michigan would jump from third, to the winner's circle with an upset victory in the race.
The Badgers ended up third in the varsity eight, its highest finish at the Big Ten championship. Michigan won in 6:48.4, with Ohio State second in 6:50.4 and the Badgers third in 6:53.7. The varsity eight of coxswain Beth Readfern, and rowers Nikki Lennart, Emily Simonds, Kari Harmon, Bryana Seifert, Christina Strasser, Julie Quoss, Katie Culp and Nicole Weir beat the school's previous best of fourth place, achieved at the inaugural Big Ten championships during 2000 in Madison.
The day started well for Wisconsin. Seeded among the top three in all but the varsity four, the Badgers finished among the top two in each of their heats, including an upset of top-seed Minnesota in the varsity four, knocking the Gophers to the petite final. With the upset, the UW qualified all six of its boats to grand finals.
Like the morning, the afternoon started in fine fashion, as the Badgers won their fifth consecutive Big Ten title in the second novice eight. Seeded second behind Minnesota, the Badgers clocked a 7:10.5 to edge the favorites by .5 seconds. Coxswain Sonya Baumstein, Erin West, Emily Boesen, Suzie Benoit, Kelly Kwas, Christen Stevens, Tegan Jones, Erica Hanson and Jamie Genthe made up the Big Ten champion boat.
The victory gave Wisconsin the early team lead with seven points. A third-place result in the novice eight, led to a third-place finish in the second varsity four and kept the Badgers near the top of the team standings.
Wisconsin's surprise of the day, the varsity four, finished under a boat length behind champion Ohio State, earning Wisconsin a much-needed 18 points. Coxswain Meg Bradshaw, along with Kirby Gallie, Katie Pofahl, Nicole Nelson and Katie Karls stroked the Badgers to the runner-up spot.
Following the varsity four, the Badgers held the top spot with two races remaining - the second varsity eight and varsity eight. Titles by Michigan in both events knocked the UW out of first, but third-place accomplishments in each for the Badgers gave Wisconsin its final placement of second in the overall standings.
'Things went just fabulously here,' beamed Interim Director of Women's Crew Sue Ela. 'We still have a lot of work to do and speed to gain, but the team has performed very strongly as a group. We know where we stand now relative to our Big Ten counterparts and we look forward to meeting them again in two weeks at the South-Central Regional Championships in Tennessee.'
Prior to the 2004 Big Ten Championships, Wisconsin's top finish in the team standings was fourth, which it achieved the first three years of the championship. The Badgers took fifth at the 2003 Big Ten Rowing Championships.
The Badgers take next weekend off before the South-Central regional regatta, the last chance to make an impression before NCAA selections. The race runs Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, with team selections for the 2004 NCAA Rowing National Championships on Tuesday, May 18. The Badgers hope to make the 12-team NCAA field for the first time since 1999 and just the second time overall.
