Michigan State University
NCAA Championships
Spartan Rowing Finishes In Ninth Place At 2002 NCAA Championships
6/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
June 2, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Michigan State women's crew proved to be a top-10 national team for the third time in MSU rowing history. The Spartans concluded the season with a ninth-place finish as a team at the 2002 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships held at the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind. MSU tallied 29 points over the three-day event, while Brown University won the national title with 67 points.
The Spartans' second varsity eight rowed in the grand final on Sunday morning (June 2) in one of the closest races of the weekend, with the top four teams finishing within four seconds of each other. MSU took fourth in the race with a time of 6:50.86, defeating Michigan (6:54.61) and Yale (6:56.78). The Spartans were less than a second behind third-place Virginia (6:49.43). Washington won the second varsity eight championship race with a time of 6:46.39, while Brown closely followed at 6:48.18.
MSU's second varsity eight had the highest finish a Spartan boat has ever had at the national championships. The previous best finish by a Michigan State boat was sixth place in the second varsity eight race in 1999.
The second varsity eight includes coxswain Michelle Fix (Ada, Mich.), Amy Silder (Naperville, Ill.) as stroke, Mollie Hill (Cowra, Australia), Ashley Cunningham (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Beth Kaupa (Rochester Hills, Mich.), Amy Pennington (Nashville, Mich.), Laurie Kozlakowski (Waterford, Conn.), Ty Middleton (Gaylord, Mich.) and Katie Issacs (N. Tonawanda, N.Y.).
The Spartans' varsity four also raced in the national title final, but finished fifth with a time of 7:48.57. Michigan clocked a 7:47.61 to narrowly defeat MSU for fourth place, while Yale took third at 7:46.80. Brown won the varsity four title at 7:44.24, while Virginia rowed to a second-place finish with a time of 7:44.90. Harvard finished last at 7:49.43.
This was the first year that MSU's varsity four competed in the grand final of the national championships. Previously, Michigan State's highest finish in the event was ninth place in 1999.
MSU's varsity four boat consisted of Stacia Beiniks (Charlton, N.Y.) as coxswain, Stacey Atkinson (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.), LaToyia Bowman (Detroit, Mich.), Heather Underwood (Bay City, Mich.) and Erin Robertson (Middleville, Mich.).
MSU's first varsity eight finished 15th in the nation on Saturday.
"This was such a historical day for us," remarked head rowing coach Bebe Bryans. "Fourth and fifth place is the highest we've ever achieved at the championships, and it was just stunning. I thought there was some fantastic racing today."
"This was almost a perfect ending to the 2002 season. For the first varsity eight not to have competed in the finals, but to still finish ninth as a team is really overwhelming. The team was an inspiration to watch, and I just can't wait to get started again next year."
Final Team Results1. Brown 672. Washington 633. Cal-Berkeley 444. Virginia 435. Yale 426. Ohio State 427. Michigan 408. Princeton 409. Michigan State 2910. Stanford 26
II Varsity Eight Grand FinalTeam Lane Overall TimeUniversity of Washington 04 06:46:39Brown University 03 06:48:18University of Virginia 01 06:49:43Michigan State University 05 06:50:86University of Michigan 06 06:54:61Yale University 02 06:56:78
Varsity Four Grand FinalTeam Lane Overall TimeBrown University 03 07:42:24University of Virginia 05 07:44:90Yale University 06 07:46:80University of Michigan 01 07:47:61Michigan State University 02 07:48:57Harvard University 04 07:49:43
