No. 6 Rowing Opens 2007 Season vs. Princeton and Brown – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
March 22, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The sixth-ranked Ohio State rowing team travels to Princeton, N.J., to face No. 1 Princeton and No. 5 Brown Saturday in the opening regatta of the 2007 season. The first and second Buckeye varsity eight will race, along with the first varsity four. There will be two novice four boats competing as third varsity `A’ and `B’ as well.
Buckeyes Ranked Sixth in CRCA/USRowing Preseason Poll
The first varsity eight boat of the Ohio State rowing team is ranked sixth in the preseason poll released March 15 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and USRowing. The Buckeyes were ranked in the Top 7 of the poll throughout the 2006 season, peaking at No. 4.
As a team, Ohio State won both the 2006 Big Ten and Central Region championships and raced in the Grand Finals of all three NCAA events. The first varsity eight concluded the season with an overall record of 34-8, with a 5-3 mark in dual races, and raced in the Grand Finals of all three championships. The Buckeyes won the Grand Final at the conference championships, finished second at regionals and fifth at NCAAs.
Tough Competition
Six of Ohio State’s 2007 regular-season opponents are ranked in the poll, including four in the Top 10: No. 1 Princeton, No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Brown and No. 9 Tennessee. Four fellow Big Ten teams also are ranked, with Minnesota, Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin placing Nos. 13-16, respectively.
OSU Looks to Defend Two Crowns
The 2007 Buckeyes are looking to defend two championship titles from last season. Ohio State became just the second Big Ten team to win multiple conference championships, capturing its second crown last April. Ohio State also won the Big Ten title in 2002. In the Central Region, the Buckeyes will pursue their fifth consecutive championship. Ohio State nabbed its fourth in as many years in 2006, finishing first overall in the point standings for the first time since 2003. OSU was just the second team to win both the Big Ten and Central Region championships in the same season.
Fresh Faces
The Ohio State rowing staff added two new assistant coaches to the staff this offseason. Former Buckeye All-American Diana Albrecht returned to her alma mater. Albrecht was a four-year letterwinner from 2002-05 and a two-time First Team All-American. She primarily works with Ohio State’s second varsity eight, as well as international student-athlete recruiting.
Also joining the staff is Bethia Woolf. Woolf, who was a member of the Thames Rowing Club 1996-2003, is in charge of recruiting novice rowers and coaching the first and second novice eight boats, as well as recruiting off campus. She most recently was a member of the coaching staff at Smith College where she was the novice coach for the 2006 season and the assistant varsity coach during 2004-05.
Award Winners
Ohio State rowers were recognized on several levels last season. Ninett Kossowsky, who has since completed her eligibility, was a First Team CRCA/Pocock All-American as well as Big Ten Rower of the Year. Senior Annabelle Fago earned her third-consecutive Second Team All-American honor. Five Buckeyes were named CRCA All-Central Region, including Fago and fellow senior Jessica Shepherd.
Junior Gabriele Albertaviciute as well as Fago and Shepherd were All-Big Ten selections. A total of five Buckeyes were honored by the league.
Teitelbaum Also Honored
OSU head coach Andy Teitelbaum also was honored last season as the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year. It was his second conference coach of the year honor, along with receiving the award in 2002. Teitelbaum guided the Buckeyes to their second Big Ten championship title last season and the Ohio State first varsity eight boat was ranked in the Top 7 throughout the 2006 season.
Spanning the Globe
The 2007 Ohio State rowing roster consists of student-athletes from around the world. The 33 members of the team are from seven countries, including the United States. Germany has the largest representation from outside the U.S. with six rowers. There also are Buckeyes from Australia, Italy (2), Lithuania, Poland and South Africa.
The U.S. Buckeyes represent three different states. There are 19 Ohio natives, with athletes also from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Next up for the Buckeyes
Ohio State will next travel to Charlottesville, Va., to compete against No. 3 Virginia and Duke in the annual ACC/Big Ten Duals March 31.
