Wisconsin rises to the Challenge
September 20, 2008 | Women's Rowing
The Wisconsin women's openweight and lightweight rowing teams opened their fall season on Saturday at the Milwaukee River Challenge in Milwaukee, Wis. Each team came away with a win as the openweight "A" boat placed first in the women's eight race and the lightweight "B" boat took the title in the women's four.
"I think we did a pretty good job today," varsity lightweight coach Erik Miller commented on his team's win. "I was definitely happy. We went out there and our top four ended up taking first place overall. It's fun. It's nice to get a win. We like to go out and race against the openweights, and so it's nice to go out there and have a strong showing."
Five more Badger boats followed the "B" boat in the women's four to sweep the top six places. Wisconsin openweight "A" boat placed second, followed by "C," "E," "F," and the final lightweight "D" boat.
Wisconsin also dominated in the women's eight race. The openweight "A" boat placed first, followed by lightweight "B," "C," Purdue, and the lightweight "D" boat.
"In the eight, we had a little collision with some driftwood," head coach Bebe Bryans reported," but overall it was a pretty successful race."
"It was a really good day - a really, really strong day for the Wisconsin openweights," Bryans added. "Overall, it's just a nice solid aggressive start to the season."
Both teams will resume training and prepare for their next race in three weeks, but before that, they plan to have a little fun. On Saturday, September 27, the Badgers will host the Class Day Races on Lake Mendota, where former Wisconsin rowers are invited back to compete against the current Badgers in this all-day event.
