Ohio State Crew Prepares for Spring Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Jan. 13, 2000
The Ohio State women’s varsity crew is busily preparing for the spring season. The Buckeyes wrapped up the fall campaign with a third-place finish at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va., Nov. 14, 1999. %^$
Getting Down to Business
%^$The crew traveled to Cocoa Beach, Fla., over the winter break to row off the coast of Merritt Island. OSU set out to achieve boat speed. The Buckeyes continue to work out during winter quarter at the French Field House on ergometer machines (indoor rowing machines that measure strokes per minute and the distance covered).%^$
Rivanna Romp Recap
%^$The Ohio State women’s varsity and novice teams had three top finishes at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va. The varsity eight “A” boat placed second behind Virginia, with a time of 14:10.6. Two novice eight boats, in their first competition, placed seventh (“B” – 16:35.4) and eighth (“A” – 16:41.3). The varsity four crew had all four boats finish in the Top 15. The “A” boat, placing third, had a time of 15:16.3, with two Virginia boats taking first and second. The “B” boat finished sixth (15:34.1), the “C” boat captured ninth (15:54.4) and the “D” boat came in 14th place (16:29.0). In the pairs competition, OSU placed third behind Virginia and North Carolina with a time of 16:31.4. Virginia swept the competition at the Romp, winning all four events. %^$
Coach’s Thoughts
%^$”The fall season went well,” Andy Teitelbaum, OSU head coach, said. “We showed we were competitive with the best crews in the country. That is all you can really look for early in the season. We spent a lot of time on fundamentals and rowing smaller boats. It is our hope that this spring as we row bigger boats and give our crews a chance to become more cohesive units that our overall speed will be exceptional. We have some extremely talented young rowers in the program. How well things come together as a group will determine how far those rowers will take us.”%^$
Fall Racing: One of a Kind
%^$The difference between fall racing and spring racing is distance. Fall racing, referred to as head racing, is a 2.5- to 3.5-mile course. It lasts 16-18 minutes typically. The spring course is a 2,000-meter sprint. Because the course is much shorter, the race is normally 6-8 minutes. Head racing involves twists and turns along the river, whereas spring races are the first to the finish line wins. Boats in head races are launched at 10-second intervals to eliminate crashes on the water. %^$
Keeping It In The Family
%^$Freshman Molly Stauffer might not have given rowing a try if it hadn’t been for her big sister. Sophomore Mindy Stauffer rows in the first varsity eight, but started as a novice. The two sisters are from Ashland, Ohio.%^$
Captain of the Crew
%^$Senior Midge Petraglia has been named captain of the 2000 women’s varsity crew. Petraglia, a 34-year-old mother of two, has recently joined the first varsity eight boat. In the fall campaign, she rowed as the fifth seat. Last season, Petraglia rowed in the second varsity eight boat as the port. Her novice career began during her sophomore year, where she rowed in the second novice eight boat. Petraglia is a psychology major with plans of attending graduate school immediately following her graduation in the spring. She has two sons, ages 11 and 8.%^$
Springing Into Success
%^$Women’s rowing is past its first quadriennium and Teitelbaum attributes the program’s success to the athletics department and his assistants. Even with all of the success, he wishes the Buckeyes were ranked nationally a few spots higher. “We would have liked to participate in the NCAA Championships last season instead of just watching,” Teitelbaum said. “We’re not alone. If you look at Michigan, Michigan State and Virginia and other programs that elevated their clubs at the same time that we did, they are also at a similar place.” Teitelbaum said there are other programs who started their clubs at the same time as the Buckeyes and they are not at the same level. “When you look at things that way, it’s satisfying, but there are a couple teams that have been varsity the same amount of time that we have been and they are a few spots higher,” he said. “That is where we are looking to be.”%^$
The Schedule
%^$The spring schedule is highlighted by the San Diego Crew Classic, April 1-2. The Buckeyes will prepare for the tough regatta with the home-opener against Dayton, March 18 and the UNC/UVA dual March 25. “The Dayton regatta will open the racing season a week earlier than ever before,” Teitelbaum said. “The two regattas before the classic will make us more prepared. Other regattas the Buckeyes are looking forward to include Big Ten competition. Dual regattas with Iowa and Wisconsin and Michigan and Indiana will prep the team for the Big Ten Championships at the end of April.%^$
Definite Depth
%^$One thing the women’s rowing team isn’t without is depth. The team has a total of 42 women returning. The 2000 freshman class is comprised of Maxi Meissner from Potsdam, Germany, who has been a junior world champion, Phae Giblin and Alexandra Leslie from Australia, who were both just shy of missing the junior national team and Kristen Gentry from Dublin, Ohio. “The class is small but good,” Teitelbaum said. “We were very young last year. Six of the eight kids in the first boat were either freshman or sophomores. It’s a little hard for us to be able to figure out where everybody is going to end up.” The second boat last season was mainly juniors and seniors, he said. With a large group of returning novices, Teitelbaum is anxious to see how they will impact the team. “We don’t have holes to fill but it wouldn’t surprise me if two or three of those kids ended up making a strong run for the stern of the second boat, or even breaking into the first,” he said. “The seniors we graduated were an important part of the program but now we are looking at a higher level of athletic ability.”%^$
