Rowing Travels to New Jersey for NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 25, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The seventh-ranked Ohio State rowing team makes its seventh-consecutive appearance at the national championships May 26-28 in West Windsor, N.J. The 2006 NCAAs are hosted by the Princeton National Rowing Association and Rutgers University at Mercer Lake.
About the NCAA Championship
The NCAA championships are comprised of three races: first and second varsity eight and first varsity four. Twelve teams were named to the field May 16 with four first varsity eight boats receiving at-large bids.
Along with Ohio State, the teams selected include Brown, California, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, Tennessee, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale. Boston University, Minnesota, USC and UCLA received the 1V8 at-large bids.
OSU Wins Fourth-Consecutive Central Region Championship
Ohio State won its fourth-consecutive Central Region title at the 2006 Aramark Central/South Region Championships May 13-14. The Buckeyes topped the overall standings for the first time since 2003 with 366 points, edging fellow Big Ten team Wisconsin with 361. Ohio State is the first team since Michigan in 2001 to win both the Big Ten and Central Region championships in the same season.
OSU won two of four Grand Finals in which it raced with the second varsity four and the Ohio State `A’ boat winning finishing first in their races. The Buckeyes also raced in the first varsity eight and first varsity four Grand Finals, placing second in both events. Ohio State Wins Big Ten Championship
Ohio State won the 2006 Big Ten Championships April 29 at Lake Phalen in St. Paul, Minn., for the program’s second conference title. Both the first and second varsity eight boats, seeded No. 1 in their respective races, won their Grand Finals and the No. 2-seeded second varsity four placed second in its Grand Final as the Buckeyes led the point standings throughout the event.
Ohio State adds the 2006 trophy to its championship from 2002. The Buckeyes are just the second team, along with Michigan, to hold more than one Big Ten rowing championship. OSU finished with 130 points. Host school Minnesota was second with 121 points and Michigan State took third at 113.
Seven Buckyes Earn CRCA Honors
Five Ohio State rowers were named to the CRCA All-Central Region team and four were selected as CRCA National Scholar Athletes, the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association announced May 22. Two Buckeyes, junior Annabelle Fago and senior Beth Tompkins, were chosen for both honors. All five Ohio State student-athletes who received honors are members of the first varsity eight boat, which was ranked as high has No. 4 this year.
Senior Ninett Kossowsky and Fago were named First Team All-Central Region. Junior Jessica Shepherd, freshman Colleen Saville and Tompkins earned Second Team All-Central Region nods.
Fago, a health science major, and Tompkins, a biology major, were also named CRCA National Scholar Athletes. Sophomore Gabriele Albertaviciute and senior Jana Schiller, both marketing majors, were selected as National Scholar Athlete as well. The award recognizes student-athletes in their sophomore year or higher with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher that competed in 75 percent of her team’s 2006 spring races.
Teitelbaum, Kossowsky Garner Big Ten Awards
OSU earned two Big Ten postseason rowing awards the conference announced May 4. Head coach Andy Teitelbaum was named co-coach of the year, sharing the award with Minnesota’s Wendy Davis. Senior Ninett Kossowsky, a First Team All-Big Ten honoree, was selected Big Ten Rowing Athlete of the Year, marking the second time a Buckeye has earned the award in program history.
Five Buckeyes Named All-Big Ten
Ohio State had five rowers named to All-Big Ten teams, the conference announced after the championships. Three Buckeyes were named to the first team, tying the most in program history. Ohio State also had two on the second team.
Seniors Ninett Kossowsky and Beth Tompkins as well as junior Annabelle Fago, all members of the Ohio State first varsity eight boat, were each named First Team All-Big Ten. It is the second-consecutive year Fago, who was the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has been named to the first team. It is also the second honor for Kossowsky, who was named to the second team last season. For Tompkins, it is the first conference award of her career.
Junior Jessica Shepherd and sophomore Gabriele Albertaviciute, also members of the first varsity eight, were selected to the second team for the first conference honors of either of their careers.
Senior Katie Machingo, who rows with the second varsity four boat, was named the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for Ohio State.
Buckeyes in the Polls
Ohio State is No. 7 in the final 2006 USRowing/CRCA Poll Varsity Eight poll released May 17. It is the seventh-consecutive week the Buckeyes have been in the Top 7. Ohio State peaked at No. 4 last week, matching their rank in the preseason poll.
Ohio State is one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the poll, along with No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 14 Michigan and No. 17 (tied) Michigan State.
Back-To-Back Big Ten Boat of the Week
Ohio State garnered its second-consecutive conference honor when the Buckeyes’ second varsity eight was named Big Ten Boat of the Week, the conference announced April 11. The Buckeyes topped USC April 8 in the morning by more than eight seconds, clocking in at 6:31.30 while the Trojans finished at 6:39.32. In the afternoon, OSU won its second race with a time of 6:26.97 to Tennessee’s 6:32.37.
Ohio State’s first varsity eight boat was named Big Ten Boat of the Week for April 4. The Buckeyes upset No. 3 Virginia in their morning dual. In the second session of the day, OSU defeated both No. 13 Michigan State and Duke to conclude the event. Ohio State posted a time of 6:34.20, the best varsity eight time of the entire regatta.
We’re Going Streaking
After struggling out of the gates with three losses at the season-opening Windermere Classic, the Ohio State second varsity eight boat tallied a six-race win streak over the final three regattas of the regular season. The 2V8 boat won its last six regular-season races by at least five seconds, defeating Virginia, Michigan State, and Duke (April 1), USC and Tennessee (April 8) and Oregon State and Minnesota twice (April 15).
The No. 1-seeded Buckeyes then extended their race win streak to eight when they finished first in the 2V8 Grand Finals at the Big Ten championships and Central Region championships.
Fab Freshmen
Six Ohio State rowers competing in the NCAA championships this weekend are in their rookie seasons. Charlott Goldstein, Susanne Herbrand and coxswain Colleen Saville compete with the first varsity eight. Lavinia Tinelli and Zuzanna Trzcinska both row with the second varsity eight, while Peta-Leigh Dakyns is a member of the first varsity four. The six have spent the majority of the seasons rowing in their respective boats, laying a solid foundation for future of Buckeye rowing.
Spanning the Globe
The 2006 Ohio State rowing roster consists of student-athletes from around the world. The 35 members of the team are from eight countries, including the United States. Germany has the largest representation from outside the U.S. with eight rowers. There also are Buckeyes from Australia, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and South Africa.
The U.S. Buckeyes represent six different states. There are 16 Ohio natives, with athletes also from Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
