Rowing Launches 2003 Season at Windermere Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
March 27, 2003
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ABOUT THE REGATTA
The Ohio State rowing team will begin its 2003 season this weekend with two days of competition at the inaugural Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic. Stanford and Windermere Real Estate will serve as host for the event, which will include 50 individual races over the pair of days.
Participants in the Classic will include California, Harvard, Navy, Michigan State, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Sacramento State, Virginia, University of California at Davis, and the University of Southern California.
The women’s competition will include six teams, three from the east and three from the west. The three east teams (Virginia, Michigan State and Ohio State) will face each of the west teams (USC, Stanford and Cal) in separate dual events throughout the weekend. Each dual meet will include a varsity 8 race, a second varsity 8 race and varsity 4 race.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The Buckeyes will compete in two dual meets Saturday and finish with one Sunday. The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Saturday, March 29
*9:50 a.m.- First Varsity 8 vs. USC
*11:10 a.m.- Second Varsity 8 vs. USC
*Noon- First Varsity 4 vs. USC
*3:10 p.m.- First Varsity 8 vs. California
*4:30 p.m.- Second Varsity 8 vs. California
*5:00 p.m.- First Varsity 4 vs. California
Sunday, March 29
*8:40 a.m.- First Varsity 4 vs. Stanford
*9:03 a.m.- Second Varsity 8 vs. Stanford
*10:10 a.m.- First Varsity 8 vs. Stanford
COACH TEITELBAUM ON THE REGATTA
“It has been a difficult winter for us. We have had significantly less time on the water than the three teams we’ll be racing this weekend. We have a tremendous amount of respect for (Cal, Stanford and USC). It will be a real challenge to match the speed of these other teams, but there will be no lack of desire.”
“We have a very talented group heading to California. We’re excited to go out and experience the warm weather. We’re looking forward to starting the season after a long winter.”
WEST COAST COMPETITION
The Ohio State rowing team will face strong competition in its first trip to the water of the 2003 season. The Buckeyes will face off head-to-head against three teams, all of which appeared at the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Stanford and California each qualified as a team, while the USC first varsity 8 qualified and raced at the 2002 championships. Cal’s varsity 8 finished third nationally, while the team took third overall. Stanford finished sixth as a first 8 and tenth as a team. The USC first 8 finished eighth.
OUT FOR PAYBACK
The 2002 season ended in dramatic fashion for the Buckeyes with the First Varsity 8 Grand Final during the NCAA championships. The team needed a third-place finish in the race to place third overall, which would have been the highest team finish in program history.
Cal edged the Buckeyes by 15 hundredths of a second to push Ohio State into fourth in the race and fifth-place overall at the championships.
At the 2002 championships, the Buckeyes raced against Cal in all three finals and four preliminary races.
This weekend, Ohio State will have its shot at payback after the heartbreaker last season with three races Saturday afternoon vs. the Golden Bears.
FALL RECAP
The Ohio State rowing team competed in three events over the course of its fall training season, posting impressive finishes among national competition at all three.
The fall began in the form of the Buckeyes’ third-consecutive first-place finish at the Head of the Ohio, Oct. 5, in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Buckeye first varsity 8 finished at 14 minutes, 31.1 seconds, beating out Michigan State (15:03.4) by 32.3 seconds. Boston University took third in the competition.
The Buckeyes’ two other boats also posted strong finishes. The second varsity 8 placed fifth (15:17.3), just two seconds behind Notre Dame’s first varsity 8 (15:15.3), while Ohio State’s third 8 entry took 11th (16:02.6).
The team continued its trek through the fall with a 12th-place finish out of 47 boats and 10th among collegiate entries, Oct. 20 in Boston, Mass., at the Head of the Charles, the largest two-day regatta in the world.
The Buckeyes finished at 17 minutes, 6.680 seconds, after the addition of a 10 second penalty for missing a buoy. The penalty knocked the team back from a potential seventh-place finish and fifth among collegiate boats.
Ohio State rebounded from it’s setback in Boston with a strong end to the fall season at the Rivanna Romp, Nov. 10 in Charlottesville, Va., sweeping the varsity events.
The OSU first 8 took the varsity 8 race (13:39.4), beating out Virginia (13:40.5) and Clemson (13:51.2). The Buckeye second varsity 8 finished fifth.
The Buckeyes proceeded to win the varsity 4 race as well, with the team’s varsity 4 ‘B’ boat taking the race at 15:08.9, defeating Virginia 15:12.5. The OSU first 4 finished third (15:15.2).
A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
Six of the eight rowers from the Ohio State first varsity 8, including the entire stern, return to create a strong first boat comparable to the Buckeye’s top boat from last season, which took fourth place at the NCAA championships.
The boat will be led by senior Maxi Meissner and emerging star Karla Fiserova.
Fiserova, a junior, was chosen by her coaches as the team’s most valuable player in 2002. She also was named a second team All-American and to the all-central region and All-Big Ten first teams.
Junior Tatiana Grigorieva and sophomore Franziska Schubert also will help bring power to the boat. Grigorieva and Schubert both were all-central region and All-Big Ten honorees in 2002.
In the second varsity 8, senior Meghan McCartney, 2002 Ohio State Most Improved Rower Amanda Spires and senior Heather Arndts all are among the returning rowers.
Junior Ashley Orr will join the first varsity 8 and become the boat’s coxswain. Orr spent the past two seasons as cox of the second varsity 8.
Sophomores Laureen Ellison, Sarah Fiebig and Jamie Berning also return, looking to further increase their contributions to the squad.
FRESHMEN TRIO
The team also adds three freshmen Ninnet Kossowsky, Jana Schiller and Olga Grigorieva, to the mix that hope to contribute heavily in the 2002-03 season.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
In the tradition of Ohio State rowing, the team once again sports a delegation from around the globe.
The team now includes six members from Germany (Diana Albrecht, Ninnet Kossowsky, Maxi Meissner, Jana Schiller, Franzi Schubert, and Susi Wesenberg) and four other members from countries other than the U.S.
Overall, the team has representatives from five countries (United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia and Australia) and seven states (Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, California, New Jersey and New York).
2002 RECAP
The Buckeyes experienced a number of firsts in the 2001-02 season, including the first Big Ten Championship in program history, the first Top 3 ranking and the first time a Buckeye first varsity 8 boat has qualified for the Grand Final of an NCAA championship regatta.
The Ohio State first varsity 8 finished its season with an impressive 53-5 record, winning both the conference and regional gold medals, breaking many program first varsity 8 records including wins in a season, overall winning percentage and best regional and national finishes.
As a team, the Buckeyes took fifth in the nation, marking their second-best national finish in program history.
Conny Kirsch was named the 2002 Big Ten Rowing Co-Athlete of the Year, while Andy Teitelbaum was selected as both the Big Ten and Central Region Coach of the Year.
In total, two Ohio State rowers were named All-Americans, while four were named to all-central region teams and five were selected for All-Big Ten squads.
ABOUT COACH TEITELBAUM
Now in his eighth year at the head of the Ohio State rowing program, Andy Teitelbaum has guided the Buckeyes to national prominence.
For an outstanding 2002 season in which Teitelbaum guided the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten championship, he was named by his peers as the Big Ten and central region Coach of the Year.
With a record of 53-5 in the 2002 season and a fifth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships, Teitelbaum’s career record at OSU now stands at 196-99.
NEXT UP
The Ohio State rowing team will play host to the first of two regattas this season on Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River, Saturday, April 12, when it will face off against Duke and Virginia at the 2003 Big Ten/ACC Double Duals. Michigan also will take part in the regatta.
