Big Ten Championship Awaits Spartans in Indianapolis
5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
| Michigan State at Big Ten Championships | |
| Date | Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15, 2016 |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana; Indianapolis Rowing Center at Eagle Creek Park |
| Live Updates | Racing Results |
| Live Racing Webstream | Watch Racing Live on BTN2Go |
| Championship Website | Big Ten Website |
| Notes Package | Download MSU Notes Packet |
| Social Media | @MSURowing  | Facebook  |
The Catch
Michigan State travels to Indianapolis, Indiana for the 2016 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 had 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. Ohio State looks to match it with a fourth straight gold medal this weekend.
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 eight of the CRCA Top 20, and three of the additional six crews which are receiving votes in the poll.
Big Life, Big Stage, Big Ten Network
The 2016 Big Ten Rowing Championships will be televised on the Big Ten Network for the ninth consecutive season. The Championship will air, tape delayed, Saturday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET Veteran broadcaster Dean Linke and Carie Graves are on the call..
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) for the 2015 season, the Championship returned to a format which will see semifinal heats on Saturday for boat classes with eight entries (both varsity eights, novice eights, and varsity fours). On Sunday morning, petite and grand finals will be contested in those four boat classes, as well as a seven-boat final in the second novice eights (no Ohio State). New in 2013 was the addition of a third varsity four race. MSU will not enter a boat in this race, as it does not have enough healthy athletes to fill this boat. Rutgers will also not have an entry in this race.
Racing Schedule
Semifinal racing - two heats for each boat class - will be contested on Saturday evening, starting at 5 pm with the novice eights and moving up to the varsity eight heats at 6:25 and 6:35. The top three finishers in each heat advance to the Sunday Grand Finals, with the others to the Petite Final. Sunday racing begins at 9 am , culminating with the Varsity Eight Grand Final at 11 am. The awards ceremony begins at 12:30 pm.
Big Ten Seedings
The Big Ten announced the seedings for the 2016 Championships earlier this week. The Spartan novice boats are the highest-seeded entries for MSU, with the first novice eight the No. 2 seed and lining up with Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana in the second heat. The second novice eight race is a final only, and MSU will be the three seed in that contest on Sunday. MSU's varsity eight is the No. 6 seed and will race in the second semifinal heat on Saturday along with Minnesota, MIchigan, and Wisconsin. The MSU second varsity eight is the No. 7 seed, and will also be in the second semifinal heat, facing off with Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Iowa. MSU's first four is also a No 7 seed, racing OSU, MIchigan, and Iowa in its semi on Saturday evening, and the second four is seeded eighth - and is MSU's only boat in the first heat, and will race WIsconsin, Indiana, and Iowa on Saturday afternoon.
More Than a Decade of Excellence
MSU has qualified for the NCAA National Championship Regatta in 14 of the last 18 seasons. Since elevated to a varsity sport in 1998, the Spartans have qualified for the NCAA Championships every season but 2007, 2013, 2014, and 2015. 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 12th 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.
Academic Honors
In addition to the successes on the water, the Spartans also celebrate considerable success in the classroom - 25 of MSU's rowers will be named to the 2016 Academic All-Big Ten team: Sierra Bailey, Joanna Beaton , Courtney Boomer, Lori Comer, Asabe Danpollo, Michelle DeVriendt, Corinne DeVries, Brook Edgar, Meredith Flood, Lauren Flowers Taylor Hentgen Monica Hessler, Brianna Higgins, Kasidy Higgins, Lindsey Klei, Miranda McClellan, Kathleen Noblet, Maya Regalado, Jessica Richards, Abigail Rogalke, Lillian Thompson, and Rebecca Uebele. To be eligible, rowers must be in their second academic year at their institution.
ARow for Col
During the weekend, don't be surprised to see MSU sporting purple and "Row for Col" with a purple ribbon on the MSU shell. The Spartans are supporting would-be junior Colleen McConnell, who has undergone treatment for cancer the last two eyarts after winning a bronze medal in the varsity four at the 2014 Big Ten Championships.
ATidbits
MSU has had four Big Ten Athletes of the Year, and four straight winners from 2008-11. Only Ohio State has more winners (five), and has won the last three ... Only three 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, and Catherine Shields of Ohio State ... 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). The only other varsity eight in Big Ten history to have a chance at four straight championships is Ohio State with three consecutive under their belts headed into 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 five 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 asterisk, in 2013 - MSU's Katie Cromie shared the Freshman of the Year honors with OSU's Catherine Shields and again last year ... MSU's roster features athletes from six states, two Canadian provinces, plus Ireland, the UK, and New Zealand.
MICHIGAN STATE BOAT LINEUPS
Spartans at Big Ten Championships
Varsity Eight: cox- Julianne Calzonetti; S- Becca Uebele; 7- Brianna Higgins; 6- Brook Edgar; 5- Lindsey Klei; 4- Nicole Marek; 3- Lillian Thompson; 2- Kasidy Higgins; B- Monica Hessler
Second Varsity Eight: cox- Hannah Worth; S- Adrien Kawalek; 7 - Asabe Danpollo; 6 - Mikayla Russell; 5 - Cailyn Wolski; 4 - Lori Comer; 3 - Joanna Beaton ; 2 - Maya Regalado; B - Emily Tatge
Varsity Four: cox- Michelle DeVriendt; S- Corinne DeVries; 3- Samantha Hahn; 2- Sierra Bailey; B- Jessica Marone
Second Varsity Four: cox-Olivia Derbabian; S- Madison Traver; 3- Kathleen Noblet; 2- Danielle Connery; B- Lauren Flowers
Novice Eight: cox - Julia Michienzi; S- Meaghan Faucher; 7- Micah Peel; 6- Hannah Hentgen; 5- Kelsey Rambo; 4- Makayla Plekes; 3- Samantha Jabara; 2- Kaitlyn Meiste; B- Madelyn Bagley
Novice Eight: cox - Abigail Hampton; S- Theresa Duffy; 7- Clare Sutka ; 6- Samantha Rogers; 5- Emily Mall; 4- Jessica Derkacz; 3 - Kaylan Hayman; 2 - Abigail Miller; B- Anna Kilmer
Players Mentioned
