No. 8 Rowing Prepares for 2003 NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 27, 2003
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL REGATTA
The 2003 Central Region Champion No. 8 Ohio State rowing team will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., Fri. May 30-Sun. June 1, for the squad’s fourth-consecutive team berth at the NCAA championships.
The NCAA regatta will take place at Eagle Creek Reservoir, located northwest of the Indiana state capital for the second-consecutive season. Once again, Indiana University and U.S. Rowing will serve as co-hosts for the three-day regatta, which will crown the 2003 NCAA Rowing Champions.
In 2002, the Buckeyes finished fifth overall. The squad had its highest finish in 2001, when it placed fourth.
COACH TEITELBAUM ON THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
“Our goals are the same as they were a year ago,” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “We want to get everyone into the Grand Finals and have a chance to win a national championship on Sunday.
“It’s been a very wide open year. Nobody is undefeated and the teams that have been at the top have lost by significant margins,” Teitelbaum said. “No one is undefeated and no one has dominated.
“We’re rowing better than we have all year and you can’t ask for more than that,” Teitelbaum said. ” There’s no reason to expect there are teams we can’t beat because everyone has been beaten.”
PREVIOUS NCAA APPEARANCES
The 2003 NCAA Championships mark the fourth-consecutive appearance at the national regatta for the Buckeyes. The team finished fifth in 2002, a program-best fourth in 2001 and ninth in 2000.
A STRONG FIELD
The best Division I programs in collegiate rowing will race this weekend at the 2003 NCAA Championships. Stanford and Harvard sit No. 1 and 2, respectively, at the top of the U.S. Rowing/CRCA NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll.
Following the Cardinal and Crimson at the championships will be 2002 NCAA First Varsity 8 Champion No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Princeton, No. 5 Virginia, 2002 NCAA Team Champion No. 6 Brown, No. 7 Washington State, No. 9 California, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 Yale and No. 16 Michigan State.
Four at-large first 8’s, No. 12 Southern California, No. 13 Texas, No. 14 Tennessee and No. 15 Boston University, will join the regatta for the first varsity 8 competition but cannot score points.
OSU THIS SEASON VS. THE NCAA FIELD
This season, the Ohio State rowing team already has raced against five of the 11 teams competing at the NCAA championships as well as eight of the 16 first varsity 8 boats.
The team kicked off its season at the Stanford Invitational, March 29-30, by racing vs. Stanford, Cal and USC in first 8, second 8 and first 4 dual races. The Ohio State second 8 and first 4 defeated Stanford, the first 4 beat out USC, while Cal swept all three races vs. the Buckeyes.
Ohio State raced against Virginia at the 2003 ACC/Big Ten Double Duals. The Buckeyes posted an undefeated day in varsity races vs. the Cavaliers, winning four dual races.
OSU then competed against Michigan and Michigan State April 12 at the Big Ten invitational. At the 2003 invite, the team racked up a winning record vs. both conference rivals despite dropping both first varsity 8 races.
The Buckeyes then battled Michigan and Michigan State once again at the conference championships May 3, placing second in the first varsity 8 competition and third overall as a team behind the two schools.
Ohio State competed vs. Michigan, MSU, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas at the 2003 South/Central Regional Championships, placing first overall as a team and second to Virginia in the first 8 competition.
2003 REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
The Ohio State rowing team won gold or silver in five of the six boat championships, racking up 76 points overall to win the 2003 Central Region Championship May 17-18 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The team also allotted the most points of any squad in either the south or central region to be declared the overall regatta champion, taking home the Lexus Cup. The Buckeyes edged Virginia, who earned 70 points, and Michigan, who finished with 67.
Both championships are program firsts in the eight-year history of Ohio State rowing.
The OSU first varsity 8 took second in the event Grand Finals, but finished first among central region boats. Virginia took the central/south title, finishing just .5 seconds ahead of the Buckeyes.
Next, the Buckeye second varsity 8 struggled in its Grand Final, taking fifth. Despite the finish, the gap between OSU and Iowa in third spanned just .6 seconds. Michigan State won the race, finishing in 6:31.6.
Ohio State squeaked out the first varsity 4 regional championship by just .4 seconds over Michigan. The dramatic win pulled the Buckeyes within two points of the lead in the overall competition behind the Wolverines.
Racing for the final time this season, the second varsity 4 and first novice 8 each took silver medals in their respective Grand Finals. The second 4 finished in 7:24.1, .7 seconds behind Notre Dame. Michigan took fourth in the race (7:26.3), tying the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the overall standings with 66 points each. The OSU first novice crew was next down the river for the Buckeyes, finishing in 6:39.8, 1.3 seconds behind Virginia. Michigan finished fifth in the race (6:49.4), vaulting Ohio State into the overall lead, 71-67, over the second-place Wolverines. Ohio State would hold onto the lead, winning the second novice 8 regional championship, coasting ahead of the competition and finishing in 6:58.1, 6.1 seconds ahead of Virginia in second.
2002 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Ohio State first varsity 8 crossed the finish line .15 behind California to take fourth in the first varsity 8 Grand Final and fifth overall at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Had the Buckeyes overcome California and taken third in the race, they would have found themselves on the championship platform in third, instead they finished with 42 points overall and settled for fifth.
In the Petite Finals of the second varsity 8 competition, the Ohio State boat rebounded from a disappointing semifinal race with a strong pull and a second-place finish (eighth overall). Princeton edged the Buckeyes by 0.5 seconds to win the race.
The first varsity 4 made up for frustrating races Fri. and Sat. with a strong showing in the Petite Finals Sun. The boat finished the race and its 2002 season with a second-place finish (eighth overall) in the Petite Finals with a time of 7:52.0, behind California (7:48.6).
QUARTET OF ROWERS EARN ALL-CENTRAL REGION ACCOLADES
Following the first central region championship in Ohio State rowing program history, three Buckeyes were named to the all-region first team, while another was named to the second team, the Big Ten announced May 22.
Maxi Meissner, Karla Fiserova and Franziska Schubert were named to the 2003 First Team All-Central Region, while Natalie Legge was named to the second team.
Meissner and Fiserova each earned first team all-region honors once before. Meissner was named to the all-central region team in 2001, while Fiserova garnered first team all-region accolades in 2002. Each also were named 2003 First Team All-Big Ten and are one-time All-Americans. Meissner was named a first team All-American in 2001, while Fiserova was named to the 2002 second team.
Schubert earned all-region honors for the second time, having garnered a 2002 second team selection. She also was a member of the 2002 All-Big Ten First Team. Legge, meanwhile, was a first team All-Big Ten honoree this season and earns all-region accolades for the first time.
BUCKEYES RECEIVE CRCA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS
Karla Fiserova, Diana Albrecht, Natalie Legge and Franziska Schubert were named 2003 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar Athlete Award winners. Student-athletes qualify for the award by holding a 3.5 or above grade-point-average and competing in at least 75 percent of the team’s first varsity 8 races.
MCCARTNEY EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR
On May 21, Buckeye senior Meghan McCartney was one of five OSU student-athletes to receive the Corwin A. Fergus Memorial Award. Fergus scholars are male or female senior student-athletes who have excelled in athletics, achieved academically (3.00 GPA minimum), demonstrated positive qualities of character and citizenship and shown potential for success in a graduate or professional program.
MORE SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
In addition, 45 Ohio State varsity and novice rowers were named OSU Scholar-Athletes for the 2002-03 academic year. The list includes 27 athletes from the varsity squad and seven of nine members of the OSU first varsity 8.
The list is led by Maxi Meissner, a four-time scholar-athlete, as well as Becca Brinker, Karla Fiserova, Natalie Legge, Meghan McCartney and Amanda Spires, each receiving the honor for the third time.
In the eight-year history of the program, the Ohio State rowing team has manufactured 191 OSU Scholar-Athlete accolades.
FOUR BUCKEYES CLAIM ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Four Buckeye rowers were named to All-Big Ten teams, the conference announced May 3. Seniors Maxi Meissner and Karla Fiserova were named 2003 First Team All-Big Ten, while senior Heather Feldmann and junior Natalie Legge were named to the second team.
SECOND VARSITY 4, NOVICE BOATS CLOSE 2003 SEASON
The Ohio State second varsity 4 and first and second novice 8 boats closed their respective seasons May 17-18 at the 2003 South/Central Regional Championships.
While the second 4’s two-year undefeated streak came to an end at the 2003 Big Ten Championships May 3, the team finished third in the conference and second at the regional championships to close the season with a 14-3 record.
The Buckeye first novice 8 took fifth at the Big Ten championships and entered the regional regatta with a 4-6 mark. However, with an impressive second-place finish out of 17 boats at the regional championships, the crew finished 2003 at 19-7.
Finally, the second novice 8 took second at the conference regatta and first at the south/central regional to close the season with a 13-3 record.
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, both of whom are 2003 First Team All-Big Ten and All-Central Region honorees.
Sophomores Franziska Schubert and Natalie Legge also have helped bring power to the boat. Schubert recently was named a first team all-central region honoree, while Legge was named to the second team. Legge also is a 2003 first team all-conference member.
In the second varsity 8, senior Meghan McCartney and senior Heather Arndts are among the returning rowers. Maggie Kathman has stepped up in her sophomore campaign and has stroked the boat for the entire spring season.
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.
FRESHMAN/NEWCOMERS
Three freshmen, Ninnet Kossowsky, Jana Schiller and Olga Grigorieva, have been added to the mix and hope to contribute heavily during the 2003 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, Va., Ky., Md., Calif., N.J. and N.Y.).
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 222-106.
