No. 1 Ohio State Rowing Prepares for Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
April 28, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 Ohio State rowing team begins postseason competition at the 2004 Big Ten Championships Saturday on Lake MacBride in Iowa City, Iowa. Morning races will begin at 9 a.m. EDT with the second novice eight preliminary heats. The finals session starts at 1:15 p.m.
The Buckeyes’ first varsity eight and the second varsity eight earned No. 1 seeds in their respective championships.
LIVE UPDATES
For race schedules, lane assignments, team information and live results during the 2004 Big Ten Championships visit www.bigten.org. and www.hawkeyesports.com
BUCKEYES REMAIN NO. 1
Ohio State remained No. 1 in the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll released last Wednesday. The Buckeyes earned 17 first-place votes to remain No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. OSU’s previous highest ranking was set in the 2002 season, when OSU was No. 3 twice during the campaign.
2003 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ohio State finished third as a team at the 2003 Big Ten Championships, which was held on the Buckeyes’ home site on the Scioto River.
Ohio State finished with 107 points, behind Michigan and Michigan State who each earned 123 points. The Wolverines were awarded the conference title through the tiebreaker, which gives the championship to the team finishing higher in first varsity 8 competition. Last year marked the first time in Big Ten history a tie locked the top of the overall standings. The Buckeyes’ first varsity eight placed second, the highest of all six OSU boats. The second varsity eight won its heat in the morning, but struggled in the Grand Finals taking fourth overall. The first varsity four also took fourth in its respective Grand Final. OSU’s second varsity four finished third behind Iowa and Wisconsin. In novice competition, the first novice eight finished fifth and the second novice eight captured second.
THE BUCKEYES VS. THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes’ first Big Ten regatta of the 2004 season was against then-No. 4 Michigan April 3 on the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio. Overall, Ohio State finished with a 5-1 record in the home regatta.
The first varsity eight outran the Michigan top boat by 7.14 seconds, finishing the race in 6:30.71 to Michigan’s 6:37.85.
In OSU’s second Big Ten regatta of the season the first varsity eight topped Minnesota, then-No. 13 Wisconsin and Iowa April 17 on Lake Lemon in Bloomington, Ind. The first varsity eight swept both of its races. The Buckeyes finished 5.25 seconds ahead of Minnesota in the morning with a time of 6:42.8. The boat following with another winning performance in the afternoon as it finished with a time of 6:36.7, defeating Wisconsin (6:39.32) and Iowa (6:47.54).
The Buckeyes have not raced Indiana or Michigan State this season.
BIG TEN BOAT OF THE WEEK
For the fourth week in a row the Buckeyes earned the title of Big Ten Boat of the Week. The Ohio State first varsity eight earned the accolade for posting a victory over then-No. 13 Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota April 17. Previously, the No. 1 Buckeyes received the honor for upsetting then-No. 6 Virginia and then-No. 20 Duke April 12, then-No. 4 Michigan April 3 and then-No. 1 Brown and then-No. 3 Princeton March 27.
THE FIFTH BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Big Ten championships Saturday will be the fifth-annual conference regatta. Michigan won the first two conference championships in 2000 and 2001, while the Buckeyes clinched their first team title in 2002. Michigan placed first again in 2003. Ohio State finished third overall in 2000 and 2003 and second in 2001.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ohio State rowing first varsity eight topped Minnesota, No. 13 Wisconsin and Iowa Saturday on Lake Lemon in Bloomington, Ind. The three victories for the Buckeyes improved their record to 8-0 this season. Overall, Ohio State’s crews won 6-of-12 races on the day. The varsity squad finished with a 5-3 record on the day, while the novice team went 1-2-1.
The first varsity eight swept both of its races. The Buckeyes finished 5.25 seconds ahead of Minnesota in the morning with a time of 6:42.8. The boat following with another winning performance in the afternoon as it finished with a time of 6:36.7, defeating Wisconsin (6:39.32) and Iowa (6:47.54).
The second varsity eight also won both of its races. OSU topped Minnesota by 5.41 seconds, with a time of 6:47.3. The second varsity went on to defeat both Wisconsin and Iowa in the afternoon, as the Buckeyes finished at 6:46.1 with Wisconsin in second at 6:50.26 and Iowa in third at 7:11.1.
The first varsity four ended the day 1-1, as it fell to Minnesota in the morning but defeated Wisconsin in the afternoon. Ohio State finished at 7:42.3, 10 seconds shy of Minnesota. In the afternoon, the Buckeyes topped Wisconsin by 15.66 seconds, with a time of 7:59.3.
The second varsity four fell in both races on the day. Minnesota defeated the Buckeyes by 6.67 seconds in the morning, as OSU finished at 8:00.87. In the afternoon, Ohio State finished at 8:05.49, while Wisconsin came in at 7:59.4.
The first novice eight lost to Minnesota in the morning. In the afternoon race, a motor boat wake hit all three crews in the last 500 meters of the race. Ohio State and Wisconsin agreed upon a tie and Iowa finished five seconds later.
The second novice eight split on the day as OSU fell to Minnesota by 5.86 seconds in the morning and came back to defeat Iowa by 12.79 seconds in the afternoon.
BIG TEN LEADERS
Ohio State leads the Big Ten in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll this season. Four of the seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 15 – Ohio State (1), Michigan State (7), Michigan (10) and Wisconsin (13).
AROUND THE GLOBE
In the tradition of Ohio State rowing, the team once again sports a delegation from around the globe.
The team now includes seven members from Germany (Diana Albrecht, Ninnet Kossowsky, Annabelle Fago, Jana Schiller, Franzi Schubert, Suzi Wesenberg, Wilma Dressel, and Nora Oelbermann) and seven other rowers from countries other than the U.S.
Overall, the team has representatives from five countries (Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and United States) and seven U.S. states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia).
THE NEWCOMERS
To go along with the depth and experience of the returning rowers, the Buckeyes have added another stellar recruiting class as well as several members from the team’s novice program.
Overall, 13 new rowers, including six freshman, will look to contribute to the success of the Buckeyes this season. Five members of the recruiting class are from Germany and the Netherlands and have all competed on a national team that went to the world championships.
“The leadership is great this year,” Teitelbaum said. “The upcoming freshman class is fantastic and have been able to compete at the highest level.”
The five freshmen consist of Wilma Dressel, Annabelle Fago, Ellen Maas, Briony Clare and Merel Julia Steinweg.
The team also will add seven rowers from the novice program, who should bring experience and power to the team. The seven new rowers include Beth Tompkins, Sarah Obee, Susan Cohen, Katie Machingo, Sarah Mominee, Kathryn Poling and Kelsey Reider.
BIG TEN NOTES
So far this season the Big Ten conference has become a dominant force in women’s rowing. For the third week in a row, three Big Ten teams are ranked among the nation’s Top 10 in the latest US Rowing/CRCA poll.
The 2004 season marks the fifth season of Big Ten Conference women’s rowing. Seven conference teams compete in women’s rowing: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
The Big Ten has two new head coaches this season as Steve Pederson took over the Indiana program and Sue Ela returned on an interim basis to the helm at Wisconsin, a position she previously held for 18 years.
NEXT UP FOR THE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes will have a weekend off before competing in the South/Central Regional Championships May 16-17 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where the team will vie for its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA championships.
