Wisconsin Badgers
Head of the Rock
Wisconsin wins Head of the Rock
October 10, 2010 | Women's Rowing
Oct. 10, 2010
ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Wisconsin women's openweight and lightweight rowing teams raced at the Head of the Rock on the Rock River Sunday, cruising to a collegiate points victory thanks to strong showings in all of the races they competed in.
Combined, the teams competed in five events, with at least two boats in each race. Wisconsin's strongest presence was in the collegiate doubles race, where they accounted for 16 of 22 entries. The openweights finished with five boats in the top 10, including the first-place boat that set a course record with a time of 17:50.3. The lightweights also competed well with the top two boats finishing second and third, the team's best performance in pairs.
Wisconsin also had the majority of entries in the collegiate fours race. The lightweight A boat placed the highest for UW, taking third with a time of 17:43.31, mere milliseconds ahead of fourth-place Notre Dame. The lightweights also came in 10th, but only 23 seconds behind the A boat, while the openweights came in fifth, sixth, and 12th.
Varsity lightweight coach Erik Miller was pleased with his team's results in the fours race. "The spread between our two fours was pretty close," he said. "So it shows that the fitness is improving for the whole squad and we are starting to regain some of our form."
The openweight B boat led the way for a strong performance from the Badgers in the collegiate eights race, winning with a time of 16:00.88. The lightweight A boat kept it close again, however, coming in eleven seconds behind them in second place. The openweights also captured third and sixth places, while the lightweight B boat, with two new rowers, finished seventh.
Although the openweights did very well, especially with using different lineups, varsity coach Bebe Bryans said she knows that they need to improve some things.
"We got a chance to see what we really need to work on," she said, "and Tuesday morning we'll start fresh and make the changes."
The Head of the Rock marked the first collegiate competition for many new rowers on both teams, and they did not disappoint. The Badgers finished 1-2 in the collegiate novice fours race, with the lightweights etching out a win against the openweights. The Wisconsin lightweights also had the highest-placing boat in the collegiate novice eights race, coming in eight seconds behind the Notre Dame openweight boat. The two novice openweight boats came in third and fourth, with the second lightweight boat finishing in fifth place.
"We still have a long way to go and a lot of progress to make this year, but I feel we are off to a good start," Miller said after the end of the race. "It is fun to medal in all of the events and shows that our young team is developing well."
Head of the Rock
October 10, 2010
Rock River (Rockford, Ill.)
Collegiate Novice Four
1. Wisconsin Lightweight B, 18:12; 2. Wisconsin Openweight A, 18:40; 3. St. Louis Rowing Club; 4. Kansas State Rowing Association A; 5. North Park University A; 6. Marquette
Lightweight B: Coxswain Danielle Caputo, Maddy Raff, Allie Brown, Chrissy Wiegand, MaryEllen Powers
Openweight A: Coxswain McKenzie Kirkland, Ciera Mead, Heidi Voelker, Emma Allmann, Cathy Randle
Collegiate Two
1. Wisconsin Openweight A, 17:50.3 (course record); 2. Wisconsin Lightweight B, 18:08; 3. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 18:11.36; 4. Wisconsin Openweight B, 18:11.5; 5. Notre Dame; 6. Wisconsin Openweight C; 18:26.3
Openweight A: Lisa Godhardt and Briana Pittman
Lightweight B: Helen Beckner and Taylor Fries
Lightweight A: Hillary Schmidt and Abby Knight
Openweight B: Anna Schettle and Vanessa Kleiss
Openweight C: Lauren Peitila and Margaret Yale
Collegiate Singles
1. Minnesota B; 2. Minnesota A; 3. Wisconsin A, 23:45
Openweight A: Sarah Tenpas
Collegiate Four
1. Minnesota B; 2. Minnesota D; 3. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 17:43.31; 4. Notre Dame A; 5. Wisconsin Openweight B, 17:45.1; 6. Wisconsin Openweight C, 17:52.6
Lightweight A: Coxswain Shelly Miller, Helen Beckner, Grace Lautman, Taylor Fries, Abby Knight
Openweight B: Coxswain Clare Chandler, Mollie Kryka, Sara Watermolen, Hanna Lynch, Katherine Hanes
Openweight C: Coxswain Soley Pitre, Jessica Baldwin, Rachel Kean, Alyssa Alvarez, Brenna Van Maren
Collegiate Novice Eight
1. Notre Dame; 2. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 16:59; 3. Wisconsin Openweight A, 17:26; 5. Wisconsin Openweight B, 18:21; 5. Wisconsin Lightweight B, 19:04; 6. Marquette
Lightweight A: Coxswain Jenna Pavelec, Maddy Raff, Allie Brown, Chrissy Wiegand, MaryEllen Powers, Gillian Lapadat, Kelsey Wallner, Sam Fix, Laura Urban
Openweight A: Coxswain Elizabeth Parker, Sarah Tenpas, Heidi Voelker, Ciera Mead, Maggie Fitzgerald, Emma Allmann, Morgan Hormig, Kaitlin Dunn, Cathy Randle
Openweight B: Coxswain Soley Pitre, Karyn Perdue, Stephanie Plunkett, Kaitlyn Mayer, Eleanor Kukla, Jena Wilder, Leah Gustafson, Monica Whitehouse, Annie Wilhelm
Lightweight B: Lexi Sabarots, Kelsey Puddington, Kara McClement, Makie Matsumoto Hervol, Lauren VanLoon, Leigh Danner, Eden Warnke, Lauren Steavpack, Erin Monahan
Collegiate Eight
1. Wisconsin Openweight B, 16:00.88; 2. Wisconsin Lightweight A, 16:11.19; 3. Wisconsin Openweight A, 16:13.52; 4. Minnesota B; 5. Notre Dame A; 6. Wisconsin Openweight C, 16:35.49
Openweight B: Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Rebekah Foelker, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Katelyn Swanson, Shannon Hoffman, Amy Slesar, Kirsten Morelli, Kate Mansfield
Lightweight A: Coxswain Shelly Miller, Hillary Schmidt, Abby Knight, Helen Beckner, Taylor Fries, Caroline Mansueti, Meredith Freshley, Johanna Brady, Jessica Lund
Openweight A: Coxswain Jane Roberts, Briana Pittman, Vanessa Kleiss, Anna Schettle, Lisa Godhardt, Caitlin Mueller, Alex Opitz, Lauren Pietila, Margaret Yale
Openweight C: Coxswain Beth Swanson, Mollie Kryka, Katherine Hanes, Hanna Lynch, Sara Watermolen, Brenna Van Maren, Julia Whittet, Jessica Baldwin, Rachel Kean
