Big Ten Championships Get Underway Saturday
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
| Michigan State at the Big Ten Championships | |
| Date | May 16-17, 2015 |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana; Eagle Creek Park |
| Live Results | @BigTenChamps on Twitter |
| Regatta Notes | Download MSU Notes (includes lineups) |
| Regatta Schedule | Big Ten Release |
| Social Media | @MSURowing  | Facebook  |
LOGISTICS
The Catch Michigan State travels to Indianapolis, Indiana for the 2015 Big Ten Rowing Championships.
The Venue Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis serves as the neutral-site host course for the Big Ten Championships for the fifth time in Championship history, after campus sites were used from 2000-10. The 2,000-meter course on Eagle Creek Reservoir remains one of the country's premiere venues. The Eagle Creek course has held more than a dozen USRowing National Championships (including the 2004, 2005 and 2006 events), numerous Olympic, Pam Am and National Team trial regattas as well as NCAA National Championships and regional collegiate, junior and masters events. Eagle Creek was the site of the 1994 World Rowing championships and also hosts high-school and collegiate regattas in the spring and the Head of the Eagle each October.
Recent History The Spartans last won a Big Ten Championship in 2009, its second consecutive. The Spartans finished second in 2010 and fourth in each year from 2011-13. MSU finished fifth in 2014. The 2012 championship snapped a streak of four consecutive gold medals in the varsity eight race for MSU, an unprecedented run - only Michigan has ever won back-to-back championships in that race in Big Ten Conference history, which dates back to the sport's inception as a Big Ten sport in 2000.
Strength of Schedule Michigan State has lined up with some of the best crews in the country this season. Either in dual races or in the Clemson Invitational, MSU has seen 11 of the CRCA Top 20, and five of the additional six crews which are receiving votes in the poll.
Big Ten Seedings The Big Ten announced the seedings for the 2014 Championships earlier this week. For Michigan State, both of its varsity eights and varsity four are seeded seventh, its novice eight third, and second novice eight fifth. Defending champion Ohio State has three top seeds (both varsity eights and the novice eight) and Wisconsin has four, in each of the three fours and in the second novice eight.
Big Ten Championship Format Eight of the Big Ten's 14 universities sponsor women's rowing at the varsity level: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Wisconsin.
From 2011-14, the Big Ten Championships were a seven-race, finals-only event contested within a single day. With the addition of an eighth program (Rutgers), the Championship returns to a format which will see semifinal heats on Saturday for boat classes with eight entries (both varsity eights, novice eights, and varsity four). On Sunday morning, petite and grand finals will be contested in those four boat classes, as well as seven-boat finals in the second and third fours and second novice eights.
New for 2013 was the addition of a third varsity four race. MSU will not enter a boat in this race, nor does it have enough healthy athletes to have a second varsity four.
Injury Report MSU has been besieged by injuries this season, as seven athletes from last year's Big Ten Championship varsity eight and varsity four entries have missed all or a significant amount of the season with injury. This includes 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the year Katie Cromie, and 2015 bronze medalists Alyssa Jurcak and Colleen McConnell, none of whom have raced a single race this spring.
Big Life, Big Stage, Big Ten Network The 2014 Big Ten Rowing Championships will be televised on the Big Ten Network for the seventh consecutive season. The Championship will air, tape delayed, 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 25. Former Spartan and First Team Academic All-American Kate Burdick will serve as the color commentator for the Big Ten Network's coverage for a fourth consecutive season. Burdick was a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree in 2007 and CRCA Central Region first team selection as well. Dean Linke handles play-by-play duties.
Academic Honors In addition to the successes on the water, the Spartans also celebrate considerable success in the classroom - 19 of MSU's 34 varsity rowers will be named to the 2015 Academic All-Big Ten team: Joanna Beaton , Courtney Boomer, Lori Comer, Asabe Danpollo, Michelle DeVriendt, Corinne DeVries, Brook Edgar, Monica Hessler, Brianna Higgins, Olivia Jamrog, Zion Keck, Sarah Kovacs, Jessica Marrone, Miranda McClellan, Kathleen Noblet, Ursula O'Connor, Elizabeth Schaepe, Lillian Thompson, and Katie Trahan. To be eligible, rowers must be in at least their sophomore academic year and rowed in a varsity boat for 75% of the team's races.
More Than a Decade of Excellence MSU has qualified for the NCAA National Championship Regatta in 14 of the last 17 seasons. Since elevated to a varsity sport in 1998, the Spartans have qualified for the NCAA Championships every season but 2007, 2013, and 2014. MSU has received 11 team bids and received at-large berths for their varsity eight boat in 1998 and 2001. MSU finished 16th at the 2012 championships, and the program's best finish was sixth (2006,2008, 2009).
The Head Coach Matt Weise is in 11th season as the head coach for the women's rowing program, after spending seven years as an assistant. Weise continually develops the nationally-recognized program, leading the team to its highest finish at the NCAA Championship and back-to-back Big Ten titles (2008, 2009). Over his eight previous seasons as the head coach of the Green and White, Weise has led the Spartans to seven NCAA appearances, three Big Ten championships and one Central Region title. Weise, a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, has also coached 11 All-Americans, five Big Ten Athletes of the Year, three Big Ten Freshmen of the Year and 12 Academic All-Americans.
Tidbits MSU has had four Big Ten Athletes of the Year, and three straight winners from 2009-11. No school can claim more winners, and no other school has won more than two in a row ... Only two athletes in the history of the Big Ten Conference has claimed both Freshman of the Year and Athlete of the Year honors in rowing - 2008 MSU graduate Anne Cowan, and 2011 graduate Laura Cowal ... Cowal is also the only rowing athlete in the history of the Big Ten to win four gold medals in the varsity eight ... Michigan State's varsity eight won four consecutive Big Ten gold medals (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). No other varsity eight in Big Ten history has won three straight championships, but Ohio State's top-ranked varsity eight has a chance at its third straight title this weekend. The longest winning streak by one school in one event is the Wisconsin second novice eight boat, which won the first five Big Ten titles in that category ... Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State are the only three schools to produce a varsity eight championship since the Big Ten began in 2000 ... Only four times in Big Ten history has one school swept all three major awards (Athlete, Freshman, and Coach of the Year). Michigan State accomplished the feat in both 2005 and 2008, while Michigan did it in 2012 and Ohio State did it, (with an caveat), in 2013 - MSU's Katie Cromie shared the Freshman of the Year honors with OSU's Catherine Shields ... MSU's roster features athletes from 10 states, two Canadian provinces, plus Ireland and New Zealand.
Lineups - 2015 Big Ten Championships
Varsity Eight: C- Julianne Calzonetti; S- Adrien Kawalek; 7- Brianna Higgins; 6- Mikayla Russell; 5- Brook Edgar; 4- Lori Comer; 3 - Joanna Beaton; 2- Sarah Kovacs; B- Olivia Jamrog
Second Varsity Eight: C- Chelsea Kneuer; S- Monica Hessler 7- Lillian Thompson; 6 - Nicole Marek 5- Cailyn Wolski; 4- Sarah Crosby; 3- Emma Green; 2- Kimi Lakanen; B - Asabe Danpollo
Varsity Four: C- Katie Trahan; S - Courtney Boomer; 3- Beth Schaepe; 2- Jessica Marrone; B- Kathleen Noblet
Novice Eight: C- Sabrina Meo; S- Rebecca Uebele; 7- Emily Tatge; 6- Krista Nicholson; 5- Lindsey Klei; 4- Kassidy Higgins; 3- Kealan Milles-Lucke; 2- Taylor Hentgen; B - Samantha Hahn
Second Novice Eight: C- Meghan Lindsey; S- Erin Scott; 7-Emma Niemeyer; 6- Kendall Mallory; 5- Carly Geraci; 4- Quinn Bezenah; 3- Abigail Downs; 2- Rachel Semaan; B- Anna Curley.
Players Mentioned
