Rowing Opens Fall Schedule Against Michigan
9/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Sept. 19, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2008-09 Michigan State rowing program will open its fall schedule this Sunday as the Spartans race against Michigan on Belleville Lake in Belleville, Mich.
MSU was the 2008 Big Ten Champion and the Spartans' varsity four and varsity eight tied their best finish in school history last season at the NCAA Championship Regatta: the four finished fifth and the eight took sixth.
Saturday's event will feature two flights for each boat and compete in five races in the non-scoring event. There will also be a cap on the strokes per minute that a team is alloted as each boat cannot surpass 26.
"This race is mainly geared towards working on initial racing strategy and technical development under racing conditions," head coach Matt Weise said. "We do multiple races because there is essentially a time-out between races."
The Spartans will be lead by several key returning rowers, including returning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Laura Cowal (Thorold, Ontario). Also returning for the 2008-09 season are junior Michelle Mussett (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia), senior Amanda Dunnill (Flushing, Mich.), junior Emily Regan (Williamsville, Va.), senior Sarah Schmidt (Grosse Ile, Mich.), all of whom return after rowing with the varsity eight last season.
The varsity four returns every rower that competed at the NCAA Championship Regatta; the only loss is the graduation coxswain is the graduation of Allison Duffy (Grosse Ile, Mich.). Junior Lauren Gamble (Commerce Township, Mich.), senior Ashley Wenneman (Grosse Ile, Mich.), junior Victoria Woodward (Howell, Mich.) and sophomore Stephanie Bochenek (Hamilton, Ontario) will man the boat this fall.
Last year the event featured the Spartans and both Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Each program raced two boats in the first flight. The Wolverines and Spartans competed evenly in all five races, trading first place in each race. The Eagles were consistently in fifth and sixth.
The second flight included a Spartan eight and a Michigan four and eight. MSU's eight won all five pieces by open water.
Players Mentioned
