Buckeye Rowing Travels to Aramark Central/South Region Sprints – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 10, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State rowing team, including the 12th-ranked first varsity eight crew, travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to race in the 2007 Aramark Central/South Region Sprints hosted by the University of Tennessee on Melton Hill Lake May 12-13. The Buckeyes are competing for their fifth Central Region championship in as many years.
Heats and semifinal races will take place Saturday to determine who will compete in which finals Sunday. The schedule Sunday includes Grand and Petite Finals as well as C and D Finals, for those teams who do not make it to the top two races.
About the Region Sprints
The regional championships are comprised of 23 teams from throughout the south and central areas of the country. The Central and South Regions have been hosted on Melton Hill Lake since the inaugural competition in 1997.
The Buckeyes are competing in the first and second varisty eight, the first varsity four and open four and the first novice eight races. Points will be awarded depending on standings after all finals are completed. Along with Ohio State, there are six other teams from the Big Ten (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin).
OSU at the Central Regionals
Ohio State has won the Central Region championship the last four seasons. Last year, the Buckeyes finished first in the overall team standings for the first time since 2003 with 366 points, edging fellow Big Ten team Wisconsin at 361. Ohio State was just the second Big Ten team to win both the conference and Central Region crown in the same season. The Buckeyes won two of the four Grand Finals in which they raced, taking first in the second varsity eight and open four events. The first varsity eight and first varsity four took second in their respective Grand Finals.
Buckeye Heat Schedule
Ohio State will race in Heat 1 in the open four (9 a.m.), Heat 2 in the first novice eight (9:40 a.m.) and first varsity four (10:20 a.m.) and Heat 3 in the second varsity eight (11:10 a.m.) and first varsity eight (11:50 a.m.). The OSU semifinal race schedules will be determined by their finishes in their respective heats.
Tough Competition
The 12th-ranked Ohio State first varsity eight is one of nine nationally-ranked crews to row at the Regional Sprints. The Central Region also includes No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Minnesota and No. 13 Michigan State. Four crews are ranked from the South Region: No. 5 Virginia, No. 11 Central Florida, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 19 Louisville.
Buckeyes Take Third at Big Tens
Ohio State finished third at the 2007 Big Ten Championships April 28 in Madison, Wis. The event was held on the 1,810-meter course on Lake Wingra. Ohio State totaled 103 points to edge Michigan State in fourth with 102. Minnesota won the title and Michigan was second. Ohio State has placed in the Top 3 of the team standings all eight years of the Big Ten championships.
The Buckeyes raced in four Grand Finals, with team-best second-place finishes in both the second varsity eight and first varsity four events. The third-ranked first varsity eight crossed the finish line fourth in its Grand Final, with only four seconds separating first through fourth place boats.
Two Buckeyes Earn All-Big Ten Awards
Two Buckeyes were named to All-Big Ten teams, the conference announced April 28 following the Big Ten championships at Lake Wingra in Madison, Wis. Gabriele Albertaviciute was named to the first team while Jessica Shepherd received second team honors. Both Albertaviciute and Shepherd row in the nationally-ranked first varsity eight boat. Since 2000, Ohio State has garnered 16 First Team and 15 Second Team All-Big Ten honors.
For Albertaviciute, it was her second All-Big Ten award after earning second team honors in 2006. Shepherd, a senior co-captain, picked up her second All-Big Ten honor, also making the second team in 2006. She was named to Second Team All-Central Region last year as well.
Fellow senior co-captain Justine Mahler received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. She also has rowed in the nationally-ranked first varsity eight crew throughout the last two seasons.
Ohio State in the National Rankings
The Buckeye first varsity eight crew have been ranked No. 12 in the CRCA/USRowing poll the last two weeks, including the most recent poll released Tuesday. Ohio State was ranked No. 3 in the CRCA/USRowing poll for four weeks in a row to conclude the regular season. It was the highest ranking for the Buckeyes since the 2005 season. Ohio State began 2007 as No. 6 and then moved up to fourth in the second poll.
A Look at the OSU First Varsity Eight
The Ohio State first varsity eight has defeated six nationally-ranked opponents this season and rowed to a 7-1 record in the regular season. OSU’s 1V8 defeated former No. 1 Princeton and No. 2 Virginia March 24 and 31, respectively, in the opening two regattas of the season. The Buckeyes also defeated No. 12 Tennessee (April 7), No. 20 Michigan State (April 14) and twice topped Michigan (ranked No. 16 April 7 and No. 11 April 14). The lone loss was to Brown in the opening regatta of the season, who then became the top-ranked team in the nation and is currently No. 4.
OSU’s 1V8 Earns Back-to-Back Boat of the Week Honors
The first varsity eight earned back-to-back Big Ten Boat of the Week honors, March 26 and April 2. The Buckeye crew of Claudia Wurzel, Justine Mahler, Zuzanna Trzcinska, Patricia Goodeman, Gabriele Albertaviciute, Jessica Shepherd, Annabelle Fago, Briony Clare and coxswain Susanne Wilson earned its awards after upsetting then-No. 2 Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Duals March 31 and then-No. 1 and defending NCAA champ Princeton to open the season March 24.
Spanning the Globe
The OSU rowing roster consists of student-athletes from around the world with 33 members of the team 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 aims for its eighth-consecutive appearance at the NCAA championships May 25-27. Oak Ridge, Tenn., also is the site of the NCAA championships this year.
