Rowing Wraps Up Season Opening Weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State rowing team concluded its season opening weekend at the Big Ten/Ivy League double dual with several strong performances against No. 5-ranked Yale on Friday and No. 19-ranked Harvard-Radcliffe on Saturday. MSU also competed against Big Ten opponent, No. 17-ranked Indiana, on both days.

"Part of opening up is, the first race you want to get all of the nerves out and see where you are and what your starting point is," said Michigan State head coach Matt Weise. "I thought yesterday against Yale and Indiana we had a really good starting point."

Taking on No. 5 Yale and No. 17 Indiana on Friday afternoon, the Spartans held their own against a pair of top programs. Michigan State's varsity eight finished in 6:37.9 to defeat Indiana (6:40.6) and nearly keep pace with one of the top boats in the country in Yale (6:34.1).

All three boats got off the line well, but it was the Spartans who sat at the back of the pack through the first two-thirds of the race. At that point, Michigan State made a strong movement to race past the Hoosiers and stake claim of second place.

"Our varsity eight took a really good first step yesterday afternoon just from the way they attacked the race course," said Weise. "They were really good at being aggressive and did a really nice job."

MSU's second varsity eight also kept pace with Yale (6:38.3) and defeated Indiana (6:41.1) in posting a time of 6:40.8.

In the varsity four, Michigan State beat both Yale and Indiana off the starting line, but took third in the race with a time of 7:50.5. The second varsity four fell behind at the beginning of their race on Friday, but executed a solid sprint to the finish line with a time of 7:50.7. MSU's third varsity four finished with a time of 8:15.1 after putting together a solid first 1000 meters.

Competing in their first collegiate regatta, the novice eight boats turned in times of 7:20.1 and 7:29.6 on Friday to take third in each race.

Michigan State's varsity eight took a bit of a step backwards against Harvard and Indiana on Saturday morning, finishing with a time of 6:44.48.

"This morning the eights started off great, but just didn't quite have the same energy that they had on Friday," said Weise. "We didn't end on a great note last year, so I think for them they started off great and were relieved. With that little bit of relief, they weren't as on edge this morning compared to Friday. I think they learned that they need to have more of an edge to perform at a higher level.

The second varsity eight turned in a strong performance on Saturday morning despite being down to Indiana with 500 meters left in the race. Using a sprint to the finish, Michigan State passed Indiana in the final 250 meters to finish in second with a time of 7:04.55.

"The second varsity eight has four sophomores in the boat and a sophomore coxswain so they're just learning," said Weise. "They did some really great things on the race course."

MSU's varsity four also battled from behind late on Saturday to pull past Harvard in the final 250 meters to take second place in 8:10.41.

"The varsity four had a lot of room for improvement after first round of racing and made a good comeback today," said Michigan State assistant coach Sam Sarff. "The second varsity four had two solid races this weekend, also beating Harvard and closing the gap on Indiana between races."

Michigan State's second varsity four trailed Indiana by almost five second on Friday, but cut the gap to under four seconds with a time of 8:25.13 on Saturday. In the third varsity four, a boat of novices, finished with a time of 9:05.40.

In novice action, the Spartans took third in each of their races on Saturday with the novice eight boat turning in a time of 8:04.4 and the second novice eight finishing in 8:15.35.

"It was an exciting weekend to see our novice student-athletes compete for the first time," said novice coach Liz Smith. "Our crews learning a lot about what to expect on race day and I'm excited to see what progress we can make before racing again in a few weeks."

UP NEXT

Michigan State will take to the water next on April 13 for a Big Ten double dual against Ohio State and Rutgers at Griggs Reservoir in Columbus, Ohio. In the latest Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing Coaches Poll, the Buckeyes are ranked No. 6 in the country while Rutgers is the top team receiving votes.

MICHIGAN STATE LINEUPS

Varsity Eight: Cox – Jen Gmeiner; Stroke – Meaghan Faucher; 7 – Annie Cantu; 6 – Mary Martha Kennedy; 5 – Sarah Carless; 4 – Kate Willis; 3 – Halle Nielsen; 2 – Cameron Novar; Bow – Madelyn Bagley

Second Varsity Eight: Cox – Emma Gassman; Stroke – Kari Bushey; 7 – Cassie Kingma; 6 – Rachel Hayes; 5 – Teresa Menzel; 4 – Clare Sutka; 3 – Emily Mall; 2 – Cameron Daniels; Bow –Johanna Uckele

Varsity Four: Cox – Madison Schaekel; Stroke – Alix Krawcke; 3 – Emilee Koenig; 2 – Danielle Connery; Bow – Madison Sturm

Second Varsity Four: Cox – Hannah Worth; Stroke – Hannah Hentgen; 3 – Rebecca Harmon; 2 – Abigail Horning; Bow – Violet Butts

Third Varsity Four: Cox – Arianna Vantine/Julia Hojnaski; Stroke – Molly Weiblen; 3 – Sarah Apostol; 2 – Rachel Drogs; Bow – Sarah Anderson

Novice Eight: Cox – Sarah Flowney; Stroke – Jordan Schoen; 7 – Sophie Ruggles; 6 – Danielle Sargent; 5 – Megan Schulz; 4 – Abi Ross; 3 – Mackenzie Rugg; 2 – Andrea Blanzy; Bow – Hailey Domzalski

Second Novice Eight: Cox – Taylor Ward/Amelia Walker; Stroke – Anna Mellema; 7 – Aleah Hahn; 6 – Katie Reichel; 5 – Averi Lamp; 4 – Allison Uckele; 3 – Ally Smith; 2 – Adeline Alderink; Bow – Alle Range

RESULTS

Friday Results (MSU vs. Yale, Indiana)

Varsity Eight: 1. Yale 6:34.1; Michigan State 6:37.9; Indiana 6:40.6

Second Varsity Eight: 1. Yale 6:38.3; 2. Michigan State 6:40.8; 3. Indiana 6:41.1

Varsity Four: 1. Yale 7:29.1; 2. Indiana 7:33.8; 3. Michigan State 7:50.5

Second Varsity Four: 1. Yale 7:32.3; 2. Indiana 7:45.8; 3. Michigan State 7:50.7

Third Varsity Four: 1. Michigan 7:32.0; 2. Michigan (4V4) 7:48.8; 3. Michigan State 8:15.1

Novice Eight: 1. Yale 6:50.5; 2. Indiana 6:59.5; 3. Michigan State 7:20.1

Second Novice Eight: 1. Michigan 7:16.1; 2. Indiana 7:19.1; 3. Michigan State 7:29.6

Saturday Results (MSU vs. Harvard, Indiana)

Varsity Eight: 1. Harvard 6:40.83; 2. Indiana 6:42.53; 3. Michigan State 6:44.48

Second Varsity Eight: 1. Harvard 7:01.4; 2. Michigan State 7:04.55; 3. Indiana 7:06.7

Varsity Four: 1. Indiana 8:02.99; 2. Michigan State 8:10.41; 3. Harvard 8:12.35

Second Varsity Four: 1. Indiana 8:21.95; 2. Michigan State 8:25.13; 3. Harvard 8:33.11

Third Varsity Four: 1. Michigan 8:10.34; 2. Michigan (4V4) 8:26.67; 3. Michigan State 9:05.40

Novice Eight: 1. Indiana 7:43.1; 2. Harvard 7:53.12; 3. Michigan State 8:04.4

Second Novice Eight: 1. Indiana 7:59.16; 2. Michigan 8:05.62; 3. Michigan State 8:15.35

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Players Mentioned

Adeline Alderink

Sarah Anderson

Sarah Apostol

Madelyn Bagley

Andrea Blanzy

Kari Bushey

Violet Butts

Annie Cantu

Sarah Carless

Danielle Connery

Cameron Daniels

Hailey Domzalski

Rachel Drogs

Meaghan Faucher

Sarah Flowney

Emma Gassman

Aleah Hahn

Rachel Hayes

Hannah Hentgen

Julia Hojnaski

Abigail Horning

Cassie Kingma

Emilee Koenig

Averi Lamp

Emily Mall

Anna Mellema

Teresa Menzel

Halle Nielsen

Cameron Novar

Katie Reichel

Mackenzie Rugg

Sophie Ruggles

Madison Schaekel

Jordan Schoen

Ally Smith

Madison Sturm

Clare Sutka

Allison Uckele

Johanna Uckele

Arianna Vantine

Amelia Walker

Taylor Ward

Molly Weiblen

Hannah Worth

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