Spartans Ready for Title Defense
4/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 27, 2006
THE STORYLINE
The Michigan State rowing team looks to defend its title at the 2006 Big Ten Championships on Saturday, April 29 in St. Paul, Minn. The University of Minnesota is the host school, and competition will be held on Lake Phalen - a 198-acre lake on the northeast side of St. Paul; it boasts a 1,940-meter, fully-buoyed course - the home course for the Gopher rowing team.
COVERAGE
The website of the host school, www.gophersports.com will have comprehensive coverage of the event. Live results for heats, petite and grand finals will be available.
SEEDINGS
The undefeated MSU varsity four will race as the top seed on Saturday, while the second varsity eight and novice eight both nabbed the second seed in their events. The varsity eight will race as the third seed, as will the Spartan second novice eight. The second varsity four was named the fifth seed in its event.
FORMAT
The Big Ten Rowing Championship will be held on Lake Phalen in St. Paul, Minn., and the University of Minnesota will serve as the host. Morning heats will begin with second novice eights at 8 a.m., and run on 15-minute intervals through both heats of novice eights, second varsity fours, varsity fours, second varsity eights, and varsity eights. The grand and petite finals begin at noon, and will be contested in the same order; the grand finals for the varsity eights is scheduled for 2:45 p.m.
POLLS, POLLS, POLLS
The Spartans enter the weekend with a No. 6 national ranking in this weeks Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/US Rowing poll, one spot behind Ohio State, the Big Ten's top-ranked team. Michigan is ranked seventh, while Minnesota (17th) and Wisconsin (18th) round out the Big Ten's representation in the survey. Princeton sits in the top spot, followed by 2005 National Champion Cal, USC, and Yale.
ALREADY WINNING AWARDS
Senior Abby Wieber received the 2006 President's Award at the Student-Athlete Support Services Academic Gala on April 10. The President's Award is given annually to MSU's top senior male and female student-athletes.
HISTORIC SWEEPS
In 2005, the Spartans swept the Big Ten Championship's top awards, the first time in the seven-year history of Big Ten rowing that a team has swept the postseason honors. with the Coach of the Year award, presented to Matt Weise. It was the third time an MSU coach has been named top Big Ten coach, as former coach Bebe Bryans nabbed the award in 2000 and '03. 2005 Michigan State graduate Erin Robertson was named Athlete of the Year, and current sophomore Anne Cowan was awarded Freshman of the Year.
A LOOK AT THE VARSITY EIGHT
The crew:
The varsity eight, ranked sixth this week in the CRCA/USRowing national poll, is made up of three seniors (Sarah Brady, Christen Brown, and Kirsten Rasanen), two juniors (Roz Bialczak and Paula Thoms) and three sophomores (Joanna Brown, Kate Burdick, and Anne Cowan). They are coxed by senior Beth Smith, making her second consecutive appearance at the Big Ten Championship in MSU's top shell. Each of these athletes rowed in last year's championship, and five of them, (Brady, Christen Brown, Rasanen, Bialczak, and Thoms) were in the varsity eight. Joanna Brown, Burdick, and the 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cowan all rowed in the second varsity eight, which claimed second place.
Spring season results:
The varsity eight had a rocky start to the 2005 season in the home opener on March 25 against Indiana. The varsity squad fell to the second varsity eight both in the morning heat (which wasn't officially timed) and in the afternoon race. The Spartans placed ahead of Indiana in both cases. After its only home dual of the season, the Spartans took part in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, falling to then-No. 7 Michigan in the morning and then-No. 4 Ohio State in the afternoon, but placed ahead of Duke. The varsity eight got its season back on track with an upset of then-No. 3 Virginia on April 8, then finished the season with victories over then-No. 16 Wisconsin and Iowa on April 15. Going unbeaten against its last three opponents earned the varsity eight Big Ten Boat of the Week recognition on April 18.
All-time Big Ten finishes:
The Spartans have finished the Big Ten rowing season with a victory at the Big Ten Championships only once, in 2005. The Spartans finished second at the inaugural Big Ten Championship in 2000, then finished third the next three years (2001-03). At the 2004 Big Ten regatta, Michigan State finished fourth.
2005 Big Ten Championships:
The varsity eight entered the 2005 Big Ten races as the third seed, going up against Ohio State, Indiana and Iowa in the morning heat. The Spartan shell finished second in its heat, qualifying for the afternoon's grand final against Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. In the final, Michigan State posted a time of 6:22.2, barely edging out Ohio State by a bowball to claim an individual title and cement the team championship.
THE SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
The crew:
The second varsity eight crew is comprised of five seniors (Suzanne Buzzell, Christie Daiss, Ashley Johnson, Kathy Syrowik, and Abby Wieber), one junior (Jenna Peters) and two freshmen (Sarah Schmidt and Kate Williamson). The second varsity is coxed by sophomore Katie Bitz, who guided MSU's novice eight to a first-place finish (fifth overall) in the petite final in 2005. Buzzell, Johnson, and Wieber all return to the Big Ten Championships in the second varsity shell, while Syrowik helped the varsity four to a first-place finish at the 2005 regatta, and Peters and Daiss rowed in the fourth-place second varsity four.
Spring season results:
The second varsity eight started its season with a pair of victories over the MSU first varsity eight and Indiana in the season opener on March 25 in Lansing. The shell's upset of the then-No. 13 varsity eight earned the crew Big Ten Boat of the Week accolades for March 28; the rowers then downed Michigan in the morning event at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge before falling to Ohio State in the afternoon. The Spartans fell again the following weekend (April 8) to Virginia before rebounding with wins against Wisconsin and Iowa on April 15.
All-time Big Ten finishes:
MSU's second varsity eight claimed a Big Ten title in 2003, the only time a second varsity boat has done so for Michigan State. In the Big Ten's inaugural season, the second varsity crew claimed second place, a feat repeated twice since (2004 and 2005). The lowest finish by a Spartan second varsity eight crew, (fifth), came in 2001, and MSU's only third-place finish came a season later (2002).
2005 Big Ten Championships:
The second varsity eight was seeded fourth at the Big Ten regatta, racing in the morning heat against Ohio State and Indiana. Their second-place finish behind Ohio State in the morning heat led to a berth in the afternoon's grand final. The MSU shell's 6:29.46 was good for second place, behind Ohio State's 6:28.52.
FIRST VARSITY FOUR
The crew:
The varsity four crew consists of three seniors (Renee Bloome, Liz Brennan, and Julia Craig) and one sophomore (Ashley Short). The coxswain of the varsity four is sophomore Tamara Yantovsky, who coxed the second varsity four to a fourth-place finish in the 2005 Big Ten Championship. Brennan and Craig, are making their second appearances in the varsity four at the Big Ten regatta, hoping to defend last season's individual title. Bloome rowed in the second varsity four with Yantovsky, while Short rowed in the novice eight in the 2005 regatta, finishing in fifth place.
Spring season results:
The varsity four finished the spring season undefeated. The varsity four shell defeated Indiana on March 25 by 18 seconds. On April 1 at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Spartans posted a 14-second victory over Michigan in the morning, followed that afternoon by a length margin over Ohio State. The boat then downed Virginia, finishing a length and a half ahead of the Cavaliers' "A" entry. The Spartans closed the season with two more victories over the Michigan varsity four and Wisconsin in the double dual on April 15.
All-time Big Ten finishes:
MSU varsity four crews won individual titles in 2005 and 2002. Michigan State varsity four crews have never finished second, but have rowed to three third-place finishes (2000, '03, and '04) and a single fourth-place in 2001.
2005 Big Ten Championship:
The varsity four claimed one of Michigan State's two individual Big Ten titles at the championship regatta, the second varsity four title in MSU history. The Spartans were ranked second behind Wisconsin, and raced against Michigan, Indiana and Iowa in the morning heat, finishing nearly three lengths ahead of second-place Michigan for a berth in the afternoon's grand final. The varsity four then raced from start to finish in 7:19.3 to win the gold medal.
NOVICE EIGHT
The crew:
Two sophomores (Sarah Kreft and Julie Ward) and six freshmen (Adanna Bustance, Katie Duncan, Lauren Gamble, Lindsey Griffiths, Abby Velting, and Ashley Wenneman) make up the Spartan novice eight, with a sophomore coxswain (Megan Piwowar).
Spring season results:
The novice eight crew downed Indiana to open its season on March 25 by more than five seconds. The novices then fell to Michigan but defeated Ohio State's novices at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge the following Saturday. On April 8, a pair of novice crews from Virginia fell to the Spartans. To close the season, the novices fell to Wisconsin by 15 seconds, then rebounded to defeat the Iowa novices by a 22-second margin .
All-time Big Ten finishes:
No Michigan State novice eight crew has ever captured a Big Ten title. The Spartans have been runners-up twice, in 2003 and again in 2004. In 2001, MSU had the third-best time in the novice grand final, and the Spartans have finished fifth twice (2000 and 2005) and sixth in 2002.
2005 Big Ten Championship:
The novice eight crew entered the 2005 Big Ten Championships as the No. 1 seed and raced against Michigan and Ohio State in the morning heat, and finished third. The Spartans crossed the line first in the petite final, clocked in 6:51.3 - ahead of both Indiana and Iowa.
Players Mentioned
