Rowing Takes Eighth at 2003 NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
June 1, 2003
Indianapolis, Ind. – The No. 8 Ohio State rowing team closed its season Sunday with an eighth-place finish, scoring 38 points overall at the 2003 NCAA Championships at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Buckeye first varsity 8 finished in ninth-place, taking third in the Petite Final, while the second varsity 8 and first varsity 4 finished sixth and fourth, respectively. Harvard won the team championship with 59 points, followed by Brown (57) and Washington (55). The team finish for the Buckeyes is the third-best in program history.
After a tough race Saturday, the first varsity boat rowed an outstanding race Sunday finishing third in the competition’s ‘B’ final. The team sat in fifth through the first 1500 meters, but flew through the final 500, posting the best final split of any crew and nearly taking second in the race. The team, which finished in six minutes, 23.95 seconds, was edged by just .47 seconds by Princeton, knocking the team from seventh to eighth overall in the final standings.
“It had been a tough regatta for (the first varsity 8),” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “I have to give them all the credit in the world. They rebounded, even down in the middle of the Petite Final. They got themselves together and sprinted through a good portion of the field. They had their best row of the regatta and possibly of the season.”
The 2003 OSU first varsity 8, which includes Natalie Legge (Jr., Sydney, Australia/St. George), Diana Albrecht (So., Dresden, Germany/Vitzkum Gymnasium), Susi Wesenberg (Jr., Rostock, Germany/Gymnasium Grosse Stradtschule), Heather Feldmann (Sr., Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota West), Tatiana Grigorieva (Jr., Moscow, Russia/Olympic Reserve), Karla Fiserova (Sr., Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic/Obchodni Akademie TGM), Fransiska Schubert (So., Dresden, Germany/Vitzkum Gymnasium), Maxi Meissner (Sr., Schoenow, Germany/Sportschule Potsdam) and coxswain Ashley Orr (Jr., Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), finishes the season with a 33-15 record.
The Buckeye second varsity 8 scored the second-best national finish in a second 8 competition in program history, taking sixth overall. The team, consisting of Mimi Webb (So., Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), Meghan McCartney (Sr., Swanton, Ohio/Notre Dame), Heather Arndts (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), Ninett Kossowsky (Fr., Leipzig, Germany/Rudesgesell Schaft), Jana Schiller (Fr., Potsdam, Germany/Einstein Gymnasium), Amanda Purcell (So., Hilliard, Ohio/Hillard Darby), Christen Opperman (Jr., Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), Maggie Kathman (So., Lakeside Park, Ky./Cincinnati Rowing Club) and coxswain Laureen Ellison (Edgewood, Ky./Notre Dame), finished its race in 6:43.80 behind Brown (6:35.03), Washington (6:38.57), California (6:39.67), Princeton (6:41.99) and Harvard (6:42.43).
The OSU first varsity 4 had the best finish of any Buckeye crew at the championships, wrapping up its season with a strong fourth-place national mark. The finish ties the best first varsity 4 national finish in program history, set at the 2001 NCAA Championships. The Buckeye boat of Jessica Dolle (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Finneytown), Becca Brinker (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton), Liz Tuppen (So., Buffalo, N.Y./Sacred Heart), Devin Walsh (Jr., Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) and coxswain Jamie Berning (So., Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame) finished in 7:30.02 behind Brown (7:18.83), California (7:21.43) and Michigan (7:24.83) to score 10 points towards the overall standings.
“I’m incredibly proud of all our athletes,” Teitelbaum said. “We battled our way back from a very tough conference championships, won a regional championship, ran into some problems in the national championship and fought our way through it. This sport is about coming through tough times and putting it together when it matters.”
The program’s best national finish was its fourth-place mark in 2001. In its two other trips to the national regatta, the team finished fifth in 2002 and ninth in 2000.
“Every year you come to the championships with a better team and it gets harder to do as well as you did the year before,” Teiltelbaum said. “That’s a credit to all the programs here. Division I intercollegiate rowing is an extremely high level of competition. We went fast, this is just an incredibly tight regatta.”
2003 NCAA Championships – Day 3 Final Standings Team Point Total 1. Harvard 59 2. Brown 57 3. Washington 55 4. Michigan 51 5. California 43 6. Virginia 41 7. Princeton 38* 8. Ohio State 38 9. Stanford 33 10. Yale 27 11. Michigan State 16 12. Washington State 10
*-Princeton awarded seventh-place spot for finishing ahead of Ohio State in the first varsity 8 competition.
Ohio State Race Results First Varsity 8 Grand Final Time Points Harvard 6:26.92 36 Michigan 6:28.58 33 Stanford 6:29.54 30 Washington 6:30.07 27 Virginia 6:31.49 24 Southern California 6:38.33 –
Petite Final Team Time Points Brown 6:20.01 21 Princeton 6:23.48 18 Ohio State 6:23.95 15 California 6:24.97 12 Yale 6:26.13 9 Texas 6:28.65 –
Second Varsity 8 Grand Final Team Time Points Brown 6:35.03 24 Washington 6:38.57 22 California 6:39.67 20 Princeton 6:41.99 18 Harvard 6:42.43 16 Ohio State 6:43.80 14
Petite Final Team Time Points Virginia 6:38.28 12 Yale 6:40.05 10 Michigan 6:40.32 8 Michigan State 6:40.92 6 Washington State 6:43.58 4 Stanford 6:45.60 2
First Varsity 4 Grand Final Team Time Points Brown 7:18.83 12 California 7:21.43 11 Michigan 7:24.83 10 Ohio State 7:30.02 9 Yale 7:32.51 8 Harvard 7:34.79 7
Petite Final Team Time Points Washington 7:38.02 6 Virginia 7:39.05 5 Michigan State 7:40.01 4 Washington State 7:43.01 3 Princeton 7:45.09 2 Stanford 7:56.00 1
