Sports

Crew takes to the water

With temperatures in the forecast as low as 46 degrees and highs reaching 76 this week in Madison, the members of the Wisconsin women’s rowing team are no strangers to volatile weather.

While the Badgers are accustomed to strange fluctuations in the weather, it still can have adverse affects on the race.

So as Saturday’s first competition of the season approaches, the weather conditions at the Milwaukee River Challenge are the top concern.

"The weather in Wisconsin is always changing, so we never know if we will have good water," junior Heidi Hunsberger said.

Besides the concerns of the uncontrollable elements, the crew team’s confidence seems to be riding high.

After finishing last season winning all of its meets except the first and last en route to a third-place finish at nationals, Wisconsin head coach BeBe Bryans has even higher expectations for her girls this season.

"This year the team’s goal is to win every race," sophomore Ellie Carroll said, reiterating her coach's goals for the team. "We were a really young team last year, so last year was a rebuilding year.

"We are hoping to be stronger this year."

Having lost only one senior from the previous year, the rowing team has a lot of returning experience from which to build.

With Midwestern opponents such as Notre Dame and Northwestern rowing at this weekend’s race, the team will need to be extremely prepared.

"All the teams have been working really hard, so it should be a good race between all of us," sophomore Alex Stephan said.

With morning practices and conditioning tests Monday through Saturday, the Badgers have done their fair share of preparation. They have also met their fair share of challenges in the season’s opening weeks.

Hunsberger talked about a few of the obstacles the Badgers had to push through as a team.

"Teaching the new sophomore class how to row pairs and having the whole team go through ergometer tests [was tough]," Hunsberger said.

For some of the returning sophomores, getting back in shape and learning how to row together after time apart was the biggest challenge.

Despite these obstacles, UW seems well-prepared and ready to take on the competition this weekend. And after waiting all summer for the day to come when they could get back into the boat, Carroll and her teammates are eager to start the season off with a bang.

"We are just excited to get the season started, and hopefully it will be a victory so we can celebrate by throwing our coxswain into the water," Stephan said of their victory ritual.

With great aspirations for the season and a committed practice schedule, Carroll hopes to see great things from her team.

"It is the dedication that the girls on the team have that brings our team so much success," Carroll said.