Michigan State University
Harvard/Yale
Spartan Rowing Concludes Racing Against Yale, Radcliffe
4/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 21, 2007
BOSTON, Mass. - The Michigan State second varsity eight rowed to the only Spartan victory of the day, as the MSU varsity fours and novice eight each captured third, and the varsity eight ended the day in third place against Yale and Radcliffe on the Charles River in Boston on Saturday.
The MSU second varsity four fell behind Radcliffe early, but battled its way through the boat from Yale at the 1000 meter mark to finish in second place in the opening race of the day. The Spartans turned in a time of 8:18.1 to finish behind Radcliffe (8:05.2), and open water ahead of Yale (8:24.3).
In the novice eight, Michigan and Yale pulled away from Radcliffe early, but the crew from Yale took the lead in the final 500 meters of the race to defeat Michigan State. The Bulldogs crossed the line in 7:19.8, followed by Michigan State (7:24.7) and Radcliffe (8:06.3).
"Yale started to pull away in last 500 meters, and we responded, but by then they had moved too far ahead," said MSU novice coach Christiina Tymoszewicz. "We were very intense, responded well, and stayed long today. I think we executed much better than last weekend. I told them that they had one race - one shot to make our mark and I feel like they did."
The second varsity eight came down the course next, with Michigan State capturing its lone win of the day. The boat of coxswain Tamara Yantovsky, stroke Ashley Peach, Emily Regan, Sarah Kreft, Jenna Peters, Kate Taylor, Danica Bevan, Ashley Wenneman and bow Lauren Gamble took a slight lead over Yale early, but faltered a bit at the 1000 meter mark allowing the Bulldogs moved ahead. The Spartans pulled off the victory in the sprint, posting a 6:53.4 to defeat Yale (6:55.2) and Radcliffe (7:00.5).
"The second eight had a great race," said MSU head coach Matt Weise. "They didn't cave in when they were down and moved when they needed to."
The Michigan State varsity eight came across the line in 7:04.8 in the next race, finishing in third place. Yale's top boat put up the fastest time of the day, 6:45.4, to win, followed by Radcliffe with a 6:51.1.
"The varsity eight wanted to win, but they didn't follow the process that they needed to in order to do so," said Weise. "We've still got some work to do. This is the first time we didn't progress this year from a racing standpoint. Now, we just have to prepare them for the championship season. We had talked about this as the start of the championship season, and I think they got too worried about the result.
"The other boats did a very good job of keeping focus in the boat and focusing on rhythm which is why they were competitive."
In the final race, the Michigan State varsity four captured second with a time of 7:55.4. The Spartans fell a length behind at the start, and were unable to move throughout the race, finishing a length behind the winning boat from Radcliffe (7:50.6). Yale finished in third with a time of 7:57.2.
Michigan State concluded its trip in Boston with a scrimmage against Boston University. Although no official times were kept, Michigan State defeated Boston in each of the races.
The Spartan rowing team will continue its season at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, April 28 in Madison, Wis.
Results:
Varsity Eight
Yale 6:45.4
Radcliffe 6:51.1
Michigan State 7:04.8
Second Varsity Eight
Michigan State 6:53.4
Yale 6:55.2
Radcliffe 7:00.5
Varsity Four
Radcliffe 7:50.6
Michigan State 7:55.4
Yale 7:57.2
Second Varsity Four
Radcliffe B 8:05.2
Michigan State 8:18.1
Yale 8:24.3
Radcliffe C 8:27.7
Novice Eight
Yale 7:19.8
Michigan State 7:24.7
Radcliffe 8:06.3*
Players Mentioned
