Michigan State University
Indiana
Spartan Crew Dominates Indiana
3/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
March 25, 2006
East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State rowing team got off to a fine start in its opener agaist Indiana on Saturday, taking five of the six races in which times were kept on the day's race card. (Two races were not timed due to stoppages.) Most notable was the performance of the MSU second varsity eight, which finished a half-second ahead of the No. 13-ranked varsity squad in the last race of the day in a nail-biter.
MSU's first varsity eight started the final race of the day with a commanding six-seat lead on the Spartan second varsity, but the 2V made a charge at the 1,000-meter mark to close the margin, then assumed the front spot themselves. The varsity made a late charge for the finish line, but it wasn't enough, and the second varsity (7:22.5) rowed to the win. Indiana's first varsity eight finished third with a time of 7:42.
"I think the second varsity eight woke up the first this afternoon," rowing head coach Matt Weise said. "They've been rowing well against them all week in practice, and now they've beaten them in a race. They've worked hard all week and deserved to win this race."
In the first race of the day, MSU's first varsity four finished well ahead of its Indiana counterpart, with times of 8:20 and 8:38, respectively. The MSU second varsity eight (8:41.7) had the most commanding victory on the day, finishing almost 40 full seconds ahead of the Hoosiers (9:20.6).
The MSU novice rowers also had a successful day on the water. After being unable to record a time due to catching a crab in its first race, MSU's novice eight (7:44) finished ahead of the Spartans' third varsity (7:47.86) and Indiana's novice boat (7:49.61). The Spartan second novice eight (8:22) dropped its morning race to Indiana (8:11.83), but rebounded in its afternoon race to finish with a time of 8:20, shaving two seconds off its morning time and placing nine seconds ahead of the Hoosiers (8:29.45).
The Spartan rowers return to action Saturday, April 1 when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Teams appearing in the Challenge include Michigan, Duke and host Ohio State.
Varsity Eight
Michigan State II 7:22.0
Michigan State I 7:22.5
Indiana 7:42.0
First Novice Eight
Michigan State I 7:44.0
Michigan State II 7:47.86
Indiana 7:49.61
Second Novice Eight
Flight I
Indiana 8:11.83
Michigan State 8:22.0
Flight II
Michigan State 8:20.0
Indiana 8:29.45
First Varsity Four
Michigan State 8:20.0
Indiana 8:38.0
Second Varsity Four
Michigan State 8:41.7
Indiana 9:20.6
