Women’s Crew Travels to Chapel Hill to Race UNC, UVA – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
March 20, 2000
The No.13 Ohio State women’s crew travels to Chapel Hill to race host UNC and No. 2 UVA. The Buckeyes enter the regatta 1-0 in the spring season.
LAST WEEKEND VS. DAYTON
The No. 13 Ohio State women’s crew proved Saturday, March 18 why it is one of the top crews in the country, defeating the Dayton Flyers in all five races. The varsity four “A” boat set the mood for the chilly, windy regatta, winning over the Flyers by 34.96 seconds, with a time of 8:28.69. The second novice eight won its first collegiate race, rowing a time of 8:40.11. The novice eight boat captured its first collegiate win as well with a time of 7.56.94, 29.19 seconds over the Dayton boat. The varsity crews secured the win, as the varsity eight rowed a time of 7:10.53 and the second varsity eight rowed a time of 7:35.03.
THE VARSITY EIGHT
bow: Liz Hellickson
2. Mindy Stauffer
3. Maxi Meissner
4. Midge Petraglia
5. Megan Hura
6. Connie Kirsch
7. Katie Buttine
stroke: Phae Giblin
coxswain: Anna Pepin
SCOUTING THE UNC TAR HEELS
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels enter the meet 1-1 on the spring season. The Tar Heels spent spring break in California racing Cal. UNC fell to Cal, but learned many lessons during the week. UNC was victorious in the Carolina Dash March 4, sweeping the varsity and novice races against Duke.
SCOUTING THE NO. 2 VIRGINIA CAVS
The University of Virginia Cavaliers enter the meet 2-0 after winning two races over San Diego State March 18.
ONE OF THE BEST: NO. 13
The Ohio State women’s varsity crew was ranked 13th in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and the U.S. Rowing National Collegiate Coaches poll preseason polls. The Buckeyes received 190 points. Other Big Ten schools that ranked above OSU were Michigan (sixth), Michigan State (eighth) and Wisconsin (ninth).
WRAPPING UP THE FALL SEASON
The Buckeyes finished fifth in the Championship eight at the first race of the fall season, the Head of the Ohio. Connie Kirsch placed second in the open singles event with a time of 18:31.6. The varsity crew finished 18th at the largest regatta of the season in Boston, Mass., the Head of the Charles. To wrap up the campaign, the Buckeyes traveled to the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va., placing second behind host University of Virginia.
QUOTING TEITELBAUM
“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.”
SPRING 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.
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. She has two sons, ages 11 and 8.
THE SCHEDULE
The early spring schedule is highlighted by the home-opener against Dayton, March 18. Another top regatta is the UNC/UVA dual March 25. “The Dayton regatta will open the racing season a week earlier than ever before,” Teitelbaum said. 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 has 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 from Australia, was 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.”
