Women's Crew Readies For Central Championships
5/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 17, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's crew travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., this weekend (May 18-19) to compete in the 2002 Lexus Central/Southern Sprints on the waters of Melton Hill Lake. The 19-team regatta serves as the regional championships before the NCAA Championship on May 31-June 2. With a strong showing this weekend, the Spartans are hopeful of being selected for the national championships when the teams are announced on Tuesday, May 21.
"This weekend is a culmination of our team's season," said MSU head coach Bebe Bryans. "This will be the last time that all of our crews are together. I'm expecting a superb effort from all our boats as they strive to perform at peak levels for themselves and for all their teammates.
"If our top three boats (First Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, First Varsity Four) finish third or better in their races, I think we have a good chance of being selected as one of the teams to compete at the NCAA Championships."
The featured race of the regatta will be the First Varsity Eight, with 17 entries. Michigan State's First Varsity Eight finished third at the 2002 Big Ten Championships, just two and a half seconds behind first-place Ohio State and less than a second behind Michigan. The Spartans' entry will be led by Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Year Krista Buzzell (Fenton, Mich.).
Michigan State is also looking for a strong performance from the First Varsity Four, which placed first at the 2002 Big Ten Championships. The boat, comprised of coxswain Stacia Beiniks (Charlton, N.Y.), Stacey Atkinson (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.), LaToyia Bowman (Detroit, Mich.), Heather Underwood (Bay City, Mich.) and Erin Robertson (Middleville, Mich.), is the first Spartan crew ever to win a Big Ten Championship.
In all, six different events will be held, including the First Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, First Varsity Four, Second Varsity Four, First Novice Eight and Second Novice Eight. The racing begins on Saturday morning with heats at 9 a.m. Saturday afternoon features the repechages and semifinals starting at 2 p.m. The finals of the events will be raced on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m.
The Lexus Central/Southern Sprints will feature five ranked teams, according to the latest Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll: #3 Ohio State, #5 Michigan, #10 Michigan State, #15 Notre Dame and #20 Duke. Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Clemson all received votes in the latest poll. Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami (Fla.) and Murray State round out the regatta.