To say the least, the Wisconsin women’s lightweight rowing team is off to a fast start this spring. Coming off a successful weekend in Boston, the team may have to give major credit to the fact that it got onto the water earlier this year than in years past.
The early warm weather has been a key to the Badgers’ success, according to lightweight head coach Erik Miller.
“At the start of the year, we were competitive with the No. 1 crew in the country, and now we’re started off ranked No. 2 due to the good start we’ve had,” Miller said. “You can attribute a lot of that to being able to get on the water early.”
The favorable weather has also helped the Badgers keep pace with their West Coast opponents, who enjoy the comforts of rowing-friendly weather year round.
“Usually our competition on the West Coast gets to row all year long,” junior Meredith Freshley said. “So it’s nice for us to get that opportunity early on.”
The Badgers are beginning to gain national attention after starting their impressive streak by winning two titles at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J., April 14 and 15. UW won titles in both the lightweight eight and the novice eight competitions.
The team continued to see success last weekend in Boston when it defeated top-ranked Stanford before falling to the same team Sunday. Wisconsin and Stanford will likely face each other again this season, making Saturday’s victory a major confidence booster for the Badgers.
“The highlight so far was beating Stanford,” freshman Alessandra Ruenger said of Saturday’s win. “Just knowing we can compete with them and stay with the defending national champions is exciting.”
The Badgers are off until May 13 when they will return to New Jersey for the Eastern Sprints and, later, the IRA National Championships.
“I’m hoping that we will be able to get back on top of Stanford when we get to the national championship race,” Miller said. “That’s ultimately what we’re trying to be, to be the fastest boat in the country.”
Wisconsin’s other women’s rowing team in the openweight class has also had an impressive start to the spring, coming into the rankings at No. 9 in the nation after a strong performance April 14 and 15 at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold Hills, Calif.
At Lake Natoma, the Badgers won five of seven races, including wins over Stanford, then ranked No. 9, as well as No. 10 Brown. Wisconsin is gaining a lot of momentum, and head coach Bebe Bryans said she is pleased with the way the season is going thus far.
“I’m really excited about the season, it’s a great group of women,” Bryans said. “All of the work they’ve done is showing on the race course, which hasn’t always been the case in the past.”
Like the lightweight team, the openweight team also took advantage of the early spring.
“It’s been huge,” senior Kate Mansfield said of the weather. “We’ve had more time to practice in our lineups and have been with the same people, which has given us an advantage with boat chemistry.”
The Badgers openweight team races in the Big Ten beginning April 29. The conference is one of the strongest conferences in the nation, and it currently boasts four teams ranked in the top 16. Wisconsin will try to take down a Big Ten foe this weekend when it travels to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota.
After the Badgers are done with the Gophers, Wisconsin will have time off until May 13 when it will race in the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis. The Badgers will conclude their season May 25 when they will compete in the NCAA championships in Mercer, N.J.
With plenty of rowing ahead for the Badgers, Mansfield has high expectations for the rest of the season.
“We’re going head-to-head with some of the best crews in the Big Ten, and I think we can come out on top,” she said. “I also think we have a shot at top five at nationals.
“We’re competing well so we’re planning to continue that,” Bryans added. “We know we need to get faster, so that’s our goal.”
