Rowing Battles Big Ten Competition in East Lansing – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
April 15, 2003
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ABOUT THE REGATTA
The Ohio State rowing team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., this Saturday for a Big Ten regatta at Sleepy Hollow State Park. The meet will feature Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, with each team participating in two dual meets. Ohio State will race against Michigan State in the morning and Michigan in the afternoon.
Each dual event will include first and second varsity 8, first and second varsity 4 and first and second novice 8 competitions.
The morning competition will begin at 9 a.m., with the afternoon races commencing at 1 p.m.
COACH TEITELBAUM ON THE REGATTA
“We are going to need to be the best we’ve been all year if we’re going to beat these two great crews,” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “It’s going to be a great weekend of racing. All three of these programs seem to be vying for the conference title.”
VARSITY 8 CLAIMS BIG TEN HONORS
The Ohio State rowing first varsity 8 was named Big Ten Co-Boat of the Week, the conference announced April 14. The boat earned the award for its performance at the 2003 ACC/Big Ten Double Duals April 12 at Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River, where the team defeated Duke and Virginia. “It’s a nice honor for the athletes and the entire Ohio State team,” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “We’re looking forward to some very exciting racing against Michigan and Michigan State this weekend.”
The Buckeye top boat will meet the other reigning Big Ten Co-Boat of the Week Saturday afternoon when the it faces off against Michigan’s first varsity 8.
FAMILIAR FOES
Ohio State is no stranger to racing vs. the Wolverines and Spartans. Last season, the Buckeyes raced against the two squads at the Buckeye Invitational, the Big Ten championships, the South/Central Regional championships and the NCAA championships. Over the course of the 2002 season, the Buckeye first varsity 8 was 3-1 vs. Michigan and 4-0 vs. Michigan State.
This also will not be the first time the Buckeyes have shared water with their Big Ten nemesis during the 2003 season. Michigan State competed at the 2003 Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic, March 29-30, in Redwood Shores, Calif., but did not compete against the Buckeyes, while Michigan raced last weekend at the 2003 ACC/Big Ten Double Duals, but did not compete vs. Ohio State.
SITE OF A CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday will mark the first time the Buckeyes have raced at Sleepy Hollow State Park since the 2002 Big Ten Championships. At the 2002 conference regatta, May 4, 2002, Ohio State won four individual boat championships to finish with 138 points and claim the school’s first conference crown.
BUCKEYES SWEEP DUKE, VIRGINIA AT ACC/BIG TEN DOUBLE DUALS
The Ohio State rowing team swept varsity competition over Duke and Virginia at the 2003 ACC/Big Ten Double Duals April 12 at Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River. The Buckeyes were 8-0 in varsity races and 11-3 overall on the day.
The first varsity 8 posted its first and second victories of the year, outrunning the Duke top boat by 5.5 seconds in the morning, finishing the race in six minutes, 29.5 seconds to Duke’s 6:35.0. In the afternoon, the boat marked the fastest time set all day at the double duals with a 6:17.5, beating out Virginia (6:18.6). The Ohio State top boat now is 2-3 on the season.
“The first half of the first varsity race (vs. Virginia) was the best we have raced so far this year,” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “Those first 1,000 meters enabled us to build a comfortable lead, but you have to give credit to Virginia. They raced a very hard race in the morning (vs. Michigan). They got down to us early in the afternoon and we still had to give them everything we had to hold them off.”
The second 8 also set an unblemished record on the Scioto defeating Duke in the morning by over 13 seconds and following in the afternoon by nipping Virginia, 6:30.0 to 6:31.0.
The first 4 raced past Duke in the morning session, finishing at 7:21.9, 17.6 seconds ahead of the Blue Devils. In the afternoon, the boat outran Virginia by 4.6 seconds with a time of 7:18.0. The first varsity 4 sports the best record of any OSU boat early in the 2003 season, sitting at 4-1.
The second varsity 4, racing for the first time this season, won both of its races in convincing fashion. The boat was the most dominant on the day of any Buckeye boat, defeating its two competitors by a combined 28.7 seconds. Its largest victory came in the form of a 21.3 second win over Duke in the morning session.
Overall on the day, the Big Ten defeated the Atlantic Coast Conference in all eight varsity races, with Michigan posting an 8-0 mark over ACC foes as well.
BUCKEYES OPEN 2003 SEASON AT WINDERMERE CREW CLASSIC
The Ohio State rowing team struggled in its first regatta of the season, the Winderemere Collegiate Crew Classic, March 29-30, in Redwood Shores, Calif., with the first varsity 8 dropping races to California, Southern California and Stanford.
The second varsity 8 scored one win in three races on the weekend. The boat defeated Stanford by 4.88 seconds on the final day of competition. The Buckeyes’ first 4 was the lone Buckeye boat to fare well on the weekend, taking two of three races from west coast competition. The first varsity 4 defeated USC on Saturday, finishing in 7:28.84 and defeating the Trojans by more than 20 seconds. On Sunday, the boat followed by out racing Stanford, crossing the finish line in 7:26.99 and defeating the Cardinal boat by more than 20 seconds as well.
BIG TEN ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS TO INVADE THE SCIOTO
The Ohio State University will serve as host to the 2003 Big Ten Rowing Championships for the first time, May 3.
The Buckeyes will compete against Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin in an attempt to defend their Big Ten title on their home river.
The preliminary morning heats will kick off at 8 a.m., while the afternoon finals session will be held at noon. Admission is free.
A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
Six of the eight rowers from the 2002 Ohio State first varsity 8, including the entire stern, have returned to create a strong first boat, comparable to the Buckeyes’ top boat from last season, which took fourth place at the NCAA championships.
The boat is led by seniors Maxi Meissner and Karla Fiserova.
Fiserova was chosen by her coaches as the team’s most valuable rower 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 have helped 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 and senior Heather Arndts are among the returning rowers.
Junior Ashley Orr, after spending the past two seasons as coxswain of the second varsity 8, has been a solid leader so far for the Ohio State first 8.
Sophomores Laureen Ellison and Jamie Berning also have returned to the squad and are further increasing their contributions, serving as coxswains of the second varsity 8 and first varsity 4, respectively.
NEWCOMERS
Three freshmen, Ninnet Kossowsky, Jana Schiller and Olga Grigorieva, have been added to the mix and hope to contribute heavily in the 2002-03 season. Kossowsky and Schiller have joined the second varsity 8, while Grigorieva has been sidelined by an injury.
The team also recently added Amanda Purcell, a sophomore, coming to the team from the Buckeye club rowing squad. Purcell has immediately made her presence felt as a part of the second varsity 8.
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, Franziska 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 SEASON 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 198-102.
NEXT UP
The Ohio State rowing team will play host to the 2003 Big Ten Championships for the first time, May 3 at Griggs Reservoir.
The Buckeyes will look to defend their Big Ten title with preliminary heats beginning at 8 a.m.
