Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Announces 2007 Awards
5/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 22, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State Associate Head Rowing Coach Stacey Rippetoe has been named the Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year as announced by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) on Monday. Spartan senior Roz Bialczak was named to the Central Region First Team, while classmate Jenna Peters, juniors Joanna Brown, Kate Burdick and Tamara Yantovsky, and sophomores Lauren Gamble and Sarah Schmidt were named 2007 CRCA Scholar Athletes.
"It's well deserved for Stacey," said MSU head coach Matt Weise of Rippetoe's honor. "I've nominated her the past three years, and I think this year she really deserved it. She really made a big step up, and because of that I promoted her to associate head coach. She's ready to be a head coach. She has the credentials and the experience, which makes it great for our program to have her on our staff."
Rippetoe earns Central Region Assistant Coach accolades for the first time in 2007. Rippetoe, who served as the MSU novice coach from 2000-2004, was promoted to assistant coach in 2004 and associate head coach in December 2006. Primarily guiding the Spartan varsity fours, Rippetoe has led her boats to Big Ten Championships in 2004 (second varsity four) and 2005 (varsity four). This season, Rippetoe directed the varsity four to a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and seventh at the South/Central Regional.
"It always meant a lot that Matt would nominate me," said Rippetoe. "I think it's a special award to receive because it's voted on by my peers, and it took the nomination from my head coach to start the process."
Bialczak, a four-year member of the Michigan State varsity eight, has earned her first Central Region First Team selection. Throughout her career at MSU, Bialczak has been instrumental in the success of the varsity eight, including rowing stroke seat of the varsity eight that captured first at the Big Ten Championships in 2005, en route to the school's first-ever Championship Title. The 2006 varsity eight which also was stroked by Bialczak went on to capture sixth at the NCAA Championships, helping the team secure a school-best sixth-place team finish at the NCAA's. Rowing in stroke seat for the third consecutive season, Bialczak helped the varsity eight to a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and 10th at the South/Central Regional.
"Roz has been our staple as the stroke for three years, and I think it's a well-deserved award," said Weise. "She's been one of the pillars of our program over the past few years so it doesn't surprise me that that she's received this honor."
Michigan State doubled its previous high of three CRCA Scholar Athletes, as it placed six members of the team on the 2007 CRCA Scholar Athlete honor roll. Brown and Burdick have been named Scholar Athletes for the second consecutive year, while Peters, Yantovsky, Gamble and Schmidt are being honored for the first time in their careers. In order to be named a CRCA Scholar Athlete, a student-athlete must be in their second year of eligibility and have above a 3.5 cumulative GPA. In addition, the student-athlete must have competed for 75 percent of the season in her institution's NCAA-or IRA-eligible boat.
"I always like to see our athletes receive high grades," said Weise. "I think it's a tribute to them to be able to balance their work in the classroom and athletics."
Players Mentioned
