Michigan State University
South/Central Regional Sprints
Spartan Rowing Finishes Fifth At Aramark South/Central Sprints
5/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 14, 2006
Oak Ridge, Tenn. - - The Michigan State second varsity eight and novice eight crews each captured bronze medals on Sunday to highlight the performances of the Spartan boats at the Aramark South/Central Sprints in Oak Ridge Tennessee. MSU finished fifth as a team in the overall regatta, and also in the central region. Ohio State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Michigan finished in first through fourth places, respectively, representing the depth and competitiveness of the region. MSU rowing head coach Matt Weise was pleased with his team's overall performance.
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"All of the boats raced well," Weise said. "The girls really stepped it up a notch today, and the only complaint I would have is that we didn't sprint to the finish well, but we'll work on that. The races today were the best overall pieces we've had all season."
The novice eight crew was the first Michigan State shell to take to the water on Saturday, and captured the bronze medal in a time of 6:55.28. Wisconsin claimed the regional title with a time of 6:50.6, and Michigan (6:52.44) was more than a half-length ahead of the Spartans for the runner-up finish. MSU finished ahead of crews from Virginia (6:58.84), Clemson (7:01.18) and Indiana (7:02.49).
"This is a great way for the novices to finish their season," Weise said. "They really stepped up this weekend and did well."
The varsity four put together a much stronger race on Sunday, but the Spartans were fourth behind Virginia (7:22.0) and Big Ten rivals Ohio State (7:26.95) and Wisconsin (7:29.6) despite its much-improved effort. MSU's time of 7:31.18 was better than Minnesota's finishing time of 7:34.35, the same crew that nosed the Spartans out for the Big Ten Championship on April 29, while Michigan (7:39.99) rounded out the field of six.
"Virginia and Ohio State got out in front early and just held," Weise said. "The varsity four kept charging after Wisconsin for that third-place slot and just couldn't get its nose out in front."
The second varsity eight also appeared in the Grand Final, and raced from start to finish in 6:37.85, good for a bronze medal as well. The Spartans' were just a length back from regional title-winning time of 6:34.2, recorded by Ohio State. Rowing home just over a second in front of the MSU boat was the crew from Wisconsin, while the Spartans finished ahead of crews from Michigan, Virginia, and Notre Dame.
"The second varsity pushed well the whole race," Weise said. "They just got nipped by Wisconsin by about one seat."
The varsity eight was the lone Michigan State boat appearing in a Petite Final, after falling two seconds out of first place in Saturday's qualifying semi. With the tough loss, the Spartans had something to prove and did so on Sunday, rowing to a first-place finish in the Petite Final, good for seventh overall, clocking a 6:34.9 time. Louisville finished second with a time of 6:37.15. Virginia (6:39.17) finished third, while Duke (6:40.64), Central Florida (6:41.47) and Iowa (6:51.84) rounded out the field.
"The varsity eight led from start to finish," Weise said. "They showed they deserved to be the seventh boat in the Grand Final. They did what they set out to do, but it wasn't a very close race. Yesterday was tough for the eights, but they really stepped it up today."
