Michigan State Heads To Wisconsin For Big Ten Championships
4/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 25, 2007
Michigan State Big Ten Notes
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EAST LANSING, Mich.-Michigan State will head to Madison, Wis., for the 2007 Big Ten Championships on Saturday, April 28. Morning heats are set to begin at 8:15 a.m., with grand and petite finals beginning at 12:15 p.m. The University of Wisconsin will host the event on Lake Wingra-a 339-acre lake which forms the northern border of the 1,260-acre UW Arboretum. The lake also marks the southern boundaries of Vilas Park, Vilas Zoo and Edgewood College. The Lake Wingra course will cover 1,850 meters from the southwest to the northeast of the lake. The finish line coincides with Vilas Beach, where spectator seating will be plentiful. The first three 500 meter marks will be like a normal 2000-meter race, while the last segment of the race will stretch 350 meters. Results will be available at the Wisconsin web site (uwbadgers.com) and on the Big Ten web site (bigten.org).
SEEDINGS
The Michigan State second varsity eight and varsity four have been tabbed the No. 2 seed for Saturday's event, while the varsity eight and novice eight are seeded No. 4. Michigan State's second varsity four was named the No. 6 seed.
FORMAT
The Big Ten Rowing Championship will be held on Lake Wingra in Madison, Wis., with the University of Wisconsin serving as host of the event. This marks the eighth championship, and with seven participating schools, the championship has come full circle, with Wisconsin hosting the event for the second time. Morning heats will begin with second novice eights at 8:15 a.m., and run on 15-minute intervals through both heats of novice eights, second varsity fours, varsity fours, second varsity eights, and varsity eights. The grand and petite finals begin at 12:15 p.m., and will be contested in the same order. The top two boats from each morning heat will advance to the grand final, while the three remaining boats will compete in the petite final, with the exception of the second novice eight. The morning heat of the second novice eight will be a five-boat contest used to determine lane assignments for the afternoon final as only five schools will be racing a second novice eight.
A LOOK AT THE POLLS
The Spartans enter the weekend with a No. 20 national ranking in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing poll. Ohio State leads all Big Ten schools in the ranking at No. 3, followed by Minnesota (No. 8) and Michigan (No. 13). USC holds the No. 1 spot, followed by Brown.
MSU DURING THE SPRING SEASON
Michigan State closed out regular season competition last weekend against Yale and Radcliffe in Boston, Mass. The Spartan second eight grabbed the only MSU victory of the day, and was named Big Ten Boat of the Week for its performance. The second eight closed out the season 8-1 against all opponents, posting a 6:41.4 as its fastest time of the season.
The Spartan varsity eight finished its season with a 4-5, falling only to schools ranked in the CRCA/USRowing Top 20. The Spartans posted their fasted time of the season a 6:30 against Duke. The Michigan State varsity four (5-3), second varsity four (7-6) and novice eight (5-4) each had winning records for the regular season.
THE 2006 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Last season, the Spartans finished in third at the Big Ten Championships behind a fourth place varsity eight finish and second-place finishes from the second varsity eight and varsity four. The Spartan second varsity four finished in third place, while the novice eight turned in fourth-place finish. Ohio State captured the team championship winning both the varsity eight and second varsity eight, while Minnesota claimed runner-up honors.
MSU ALL-TIME BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Spartans have finished the Big Ten rowing season with a victory at the Big Ten Championships only once, in 2005. The Spartans finished second at the inagural Big Ten Championship on Lake Wingra in 2000, then finished third in the next three years (2001-03). At the 2004 Big Ten regatta, Michigan State finished fourth.
THE 2007 SPARTAN SQUAD
Under the direction of head coach Matt Weise, Michigan State will look to earn its 10th-straight bid to the NCAA Championships in 2007. The Spartans return eight members of last seasons' three NCAA Championship boats, including five members of the varsity eight. Seniors Roz Bialczak and Paula Thoms have competed in the varsity eight in each of their first three years at MSU, helping the boat to a school-best sixth at the NCAA Championships last season. Juniors Joanna Brown, Kate Burdick and Anne Cowan are also returning from last seasons' varsity eight. Senior Jenna Peters, junior coxswain Katie Bitz and sophomore Sarah Schmidt return from the 2006 second varsity eight, while junior coxswain Tamara Yantovsky is the lone returning member of last seasons' varsity four.
Players Mentioned
