Michigan State Rowing Heads To South/Central Regional Sprints
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 10, 2007
South/Central Notes and Event Times
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EAST LANSING, Mich.-Michigan State will head to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the 2007 Aramark South/Central Regional Sprints May 12-May 13. Heats are set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, followed by semifinals at 2 p.m. Finals will begin on Sunday at 9 a.m. with the D/C Finals, followed by the Petite and Grand Finals which will begin at 10:20 a.m., with the final race scheduled for 11:50 a.m. The Spartans head to the Regional following a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago.
SEEDINGS
The Michigan State varsity four has earned the Spartans' highest seeding, as it is tabbed fourth in the field of 19. The MSU varsity eight, second varsity eight and novice eight have all been named the five seed for the South/Central Regional.
FORMAT
The 2007 Aramark South/Central Regional will be held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The South/Central Regional has been held at Melton Hill Lake for 11 years, and will also serve as the location for the 2007 NCAA Championships May 25-27. 23 members of the South/Central Regional will compete this weekend for a bid to the NCAA's. The University of Tennessee will act as the host institution for both events.
Saturday morning heats begin at 9 a.m. and will run on 10-minute intervals until 12 p.m. The open four heats will start the morning, followed by the novice eight, varsity four, second varsity eight and varsity eight. After a short break, semifinals are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ending with the final race of the day at 4:30 p.m. In the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and novice eight events, the top three finishers will advance to the A/B semifinal, while those finishing 4-6 will head to the C/D final. The exception comes in the varsity four event which has just 19 competitors, putting those who finish 4-5 on Saturday morning straight to the `C' final on Sunday. Racing will commence Sunday at 9 a.m. with the final event set to begin at 11:50 a.m.
A LOOK AT THE POLLS
The Spartans enter the weekend with a No. 13 national ranking in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing poll. Eight other varsity eights in the field of 23 competing at the South/Central Regional join MSU in the rankings. Notre Dame leads the South/Central region at No. 3, while No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Minnesota round out the region in the top 10. Central Florida falls in at No. 11, followed by No. 12 Ohio State and No. 13 MSU. No. 17 Tennessee and No. 19 Louisville also make the cut.
MSU IN THE POST SEASON
Michigan State finished in fourth place against a tough field at the 2007 Big Ten Championships on April 28. The Spartans put four of their five boats into the grand final at the championships, and the top three varsity boats each came away with third-place finishes. No. 20 MSU upset No. 3 Ohio State in the final event of the day, the varsity eight race.
THROUGHOUT THE SEASON
Michigan State closed out regular-season competition against Yale and Radcliffe in Boston, Mass. The Spartan second eight grabbed the only MSU victory of the day, and was named Big Ten Boat of the Week for its performance. The second eight closed out the season 8-1 against all opponents, posting a 6:41.4 as its fastest time of the season against Duke.
The Spartan varsity eight finished its season at 3-5, falling only to schools ranked in the CRCA/USRowing Top 20. The Spartans posted their fasted time of the season, a 6:30, against Duke. The varsity four (5-3), second varsity four (7-6) and novice eight (4-4) each had winning records for the regular season.
THE 2006 SOUTH/CENTRAL REGIONAL
Last season, the Spartans finished fifth at the ARAMARK South/Central Regional with a seventh place varsity eight finish and third-place finishes from the second varsity eight and novice eight. The Spartan varsity four claimed fourth at the event. Ohio State captured the team championship, capturing second in the varsity eight and first in the second varsity eight, while Wisconsin claimed runner-up honors. Following the fifth-place Central Regional finish combined with third-place honors at the Big Ten Championships, MSU was granted a bid to the 2006 NCAA Championships. The selection marked the ninth time MSU was represented at the NCAA's, and the seventh time MSU received a team bid. MSU has been present at the NCAA's in each of its nine seasons as a varsity sport.
THE 2007 SPARTAN SQUAD
Under the direction of head coach Matt Weise, Michigan State will look to earn its 10th-straight bid to the NCAA Championships in 2007. The Spartans return eight members of last seasons' three NCAA Championship boats, including five members of the varsity eight. Seniors Roz Bialczak and Paula Thoms have competed in the varsity eight in each of their first three years at MSU, helping the boat to a school-best sixth at the NCAA Championships last season. Juniors Joanna Brown, Kate Burdick and Anne Cowan are also returning from last seasons' varsity eight. Senior Jenna Peters, junior coxswain Katie Bitz and sophomore Sarah Schmidt return from the 2006 second varsity eight, while junior coxswain Tamara Yantovsky is the lone returning member of last seasons' varsity four.
THE VARSITY EIGHT
The Crew: The Spartan varsity eight features two seniors (Roz Bialczak and Paula Thoms), four juniors (Katie Bitz, Joanna Brown, Kate Burdick and Anne Cowan), two sophomores (Michelle Mussett and Sarah Schmidt) and one freshman (Erika Shaw). Bialczak, Brown, Burdick, Cowan and Thoms were all members of last seasons' varsity eight, while Bitz and Schmidt earned Sprints experience in the second varsity eight. Mussett and Shaw will be making their first appearance, but bring with them a wealth of previous rowing experience.
Spring Season: The Spartan varsity eight finished its season 3-5, falling only to schools ranked in the CRCA/USRowing Top 20. The Spartans posted their fasted time of the season, 6:30, against Duke. Michigan State also picked up wins over Michigan and Indiana.
2007 Big Ten Championships: Then-No. 20 Michigan State finished third in a five-boat final at the Big Ten Championships, upsetting then-No. 3 Ohio State. The Spartans finished less than three seconds behind the winning crew from Michigan, and just behind second place Minnesota, while defeating Ohio State and fifth-place Wisconsin.
2006 South/Central Sprints: Michigan State captured first in the petite final (seventh overall) last year at the South/Central Sprints. The Spartans posted a time of 6:34.90 on the 2000-meter course.
All-Time South/Central Sprits: The varsity eight has never placed lower than seventh at the regional regatta, which it placed both last season and in 2004. MSU has earned runner-up honors twice (2000 and 1999), and has grabbed third place twice (2002 and 1998). The Spartans have also finished sixth three times (2005, 2003 and 2001).
THE SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
The Crew: Jenna Peters is the lone senior and only returning member of the Spartan second varsity eight that also includes three juniors (Sarah Kreft, Kate Taylor and Tamara Yantovsky), three sophomores (Lauren Gamble, Ashley Peach and Ashley Wenneman) and two freshmen (Danica Bevan and Emily Regan). Also making a repeat appearance at the Sprints are Yantovsky (who coxed the MSU varsity four last season) and Gamble, Kreft and Wenneman who rowed in the novice eight in 2006.
Spring Season: Despite being relatively inexperienced at the collegiate level, the second varsity eight demonstrated its value to the team throughout the season, putting together an impressive 8-1 record. The boat earned Big Ten Boat of the Week honors after defeating second eights from NCAA-regulars Radcliffe and Yale on April 21.
2007 Big Ten Championships: The second varsity eight claimed third (6:13.8) at the Big Ten Championships, finishing within striking distance of the winning crew from Minnesota (6:09.1) and second place Ohio State (6:10.7), while easily defeating the boat from Michigan, which finished fourth with a time of 6:28.2.
2006 South/Central Sprints: The Spartan second eight was one of two MSU boats to reach the podium at the 2006 Regional, garnering third place with a time of 6:37.85.
All-Time South/Central Sprits: Michigan State has claimed the regional title once (2003), and also finished as runners-up once (2002). The Spartans have finished in third place five times, including last season, while no MSU second varsity crew has ever finished lower than fifth place. It is also the only MSU crew that has qualified for the regional grand final every year since the program's inception in 1997-98.
THE VARSITY FOUR
The Crew: The MSU varsity four is made up of three juniors (Allison Duffy, Catie Tyzo, and Julie Ward), one sophomore (Nancy Diehl), and one freshman (Victoria Woodard). Despite the leadership from the upperclassman, the varsity four has just two members with Regional experience, and is composed of four former walk-on rowers. On the flip side, Deihl and Ward competed last season in the novice eight which captured third at this event. Despite the relative inexperience of the crew, Duffy has more than seven years of coxing experience and will guide the crew across the line.
Spring Season: The varsity four fought its way to a winning record, finishing 5-3 in the regular season. The crew opened the season splitting the first two weekends, defeating Michigan and Duke, but falling to Notre Dame and Virginia for a 2-2 record. The boat then came up big against Ohio State and Indiana at home, before falling to Radcliffe and defeating Yale to close out the season.
2007 Big Ten Championships: The varsity four captured third at the Big Ten Championships, as Minnesota cruised to a win, and Ohio State edged out the Spartans by .4 seconds to finish as the runner-up. Wisconsin claimed fourth, finishing more than 10 seconds behind MSU.
2006 South/Central Sprints: The MSU varsity four finished just shy of a medal last season with a fourth place finish at the South/Central Sprints.
All-Time South/Central Sprits: MSU has finished in second place twice at the South/Central Sprint (2002 and 2005), but has yet to capture a regional title. The varsity four finished third in 1999, twice in fourth place (2000 and 2006), once in fifth place (2001), and once in sixth place (2003). The varsity four has only missed the grand final on two occasions, coming in seventh in 2004 and 11th in 1998.
THE NOVICE EIGHT
The Crew: The MSU novice eight is includes one junior (Amanda Dunnill) and eight freshmen (Clare Adamus, Vicky Grygar, Katie Hood, Megan Kursik, Daryl Lederle, Alex Maibusch, Dhanielle Tobias, and Jessica Vandenberg).
Spring Season: After a slow start, the novice eight picked things up with victories over Duke, Ohio State and Indiana. The crew split the final weekend of the regular season with a win over Radcliffe and a loss to Yale to finish 4-4 against all crews.
2007 Big Ten Championships: The novice eight claimed fourth at the Big Ten Championship with a time of 6:34.3.
2006 South/Central Sprints: The novice eight put itself on the medal stand with a third-place finish last season, posting a time of 6:55.28.
All-Time South/Central Sprits: The novice eight has yet to finish higher than third at the Regional, but has earned the bronze three times (2006, 1999 and 1998). Spartan novices had back to back fifth-place finished in 2002 and 2003, and posted ninth in 2001 and 11th in 2002. The novice boat did not compete at the Sprints in 2004 or 2005.
Players Mentioned
