Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing Fall Newsletter

Transcription

1 Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing Fall Newsletter Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing - Est 2000 Fall 2013 More Inside! Captain s Corner with Chelsea Miller and Katherine Windsor Novice Niche with Coach Peter Morgan Head of the Charles video Fall Race Results Spring Schedule Once a Gopher, Always a Gopher Words with Wendy Head Coach The fall season is winding down, which means it s time to bundle up outdoors, and reflect on the accomplishments of the team thus far in the season. We have a nice combination of returning experience from last year s varsity mixed with talented recruited freshmen and novices who were invited to try out for the varsity team. We start off the fall with everyone s favorite ergometer test: the 7k. It is run the first week of each semester and is used to measure the conditioning of each athlete. Just under 30 minutes, It is the longest test the athletes take. The last three years we have attached a carrot to the 7k test. We set a goal of a certain number of rowers at or below 1:59.9/500m average on the test. If we reach that goal we will send our 1 st varsity eight to a special fall regatta. This fall is the first time we were able to hit the goal which meant we were able to compete at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. The Head of the Mississippi Regatta kicks off our Head Coach Wendy Davis established the Minnesota Varsity Rowing program in 2000 season. We are fortunate to have it be a home event that is run by the Minneapolis Rowing Club just down the river from our boathouse. It was a beautiful event this year with the fall colors just beginning to show on the river. It is also the first event for the novices and the excitement of racing is so much fun to be around. The second weekend in October found us in Rockford, IL for the Head of the Rock Regatta. We competed against Wisconsin in addition to a number of other programs from the Midwest region. The first varsity eight had some excitement with Rockford s version of the Loch Ness Monster, i.e. a rogue buoy that had come loose from its anchor. Click here to see the action....continued on page 4.

2 Fall 2013 Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing 2014 Varsity Co-Captain Chelsea Miller I am extremely excited to make the most of my senior year and inspire my teammates to do the same! Co-Captains Corner This fall we were able to hit the ground running when we returned from summer break. The new varsity rowers moving up from novice were extremely well prepared and ready to adapt to whatever was thrown at them. What was exciting about this season was the number of opportunities we had to race. It was great to see everyone take advantage of the competition and learn from each race. This was especially important during our time spent in Boston and racing The Head of the Charles. It was such an exciting environment, which also meant a lot of variables to factor into racing. I was extremely proud of my teammates for showing poise and having a great race despite all of the chaos. Now getting off the water and going into winter training it is important for us to focus on staying healthy and stay motivated by what we want to accomplish this spring. One of the best things about being a part of this team is that every single person is extremely competitive, whether it s about getting to the top of the stairs first, seat racing, completing the Marine Corps CFT, or most importantly thinking of the best Goldy Cup costume. When we can take out our competitive spirit out on another other team, that s when things really get fun, and that s what I m looking forward to this spring season. There is no question that returning to student-athlete life in the fall is a major shift from the summer. To ease this transition though, many of us on the team participated 2014 Varsity Co-Captain in summer rowing in various Katherine Windsor outlets. Quite a few stayed home in Minneapolis to partake in summer development camp and thus, the club national championships in Camden, NJ. As my second club nationals, I knew a bit more of what to expect out there and boy did it make a difference. It was really fun to see all our hard work throughout the short camp pay off through our various top finishes including gold in the senior 4+, silver in the intermediate 4+, and high finishes in many other races. The work didn't stop there though. The team continued to train on our own throughout August and came into the season more prepared than I have ever seen....continued on Page 4 Sophomore Kersten Schwanz carries fellow teammate and Marine Officer Candidate Amy Van Heel during the Marine Combat Fitness Test The winners of the Goldy Cup costume competition: Evolution of a Rower From right, Catherine Ahrens, Haley Bagley, Chelsea Miller, Alyssa ChuTom, and Ellen Hughes (gorilla) The Minnesota USRowing Development Camp took GOLD in the Senior 4+ event this July at Club Nationals in Camden, NJ From left, Coach Wendy Davis, Tabitha Andelin, Chelsea Miller, Maddie Alden, Lynn Hodnett, and Katherine Windsor

3 Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing - Est 2000 Fall 2013 Novice Niche Coach Peter Morgan The novice rowing program is composed almost entirely of true walkon athletes, with no previous rowing experience whatsoever. Recruiting someone to pick up a new sport at the Division I level can be a challenge. Every incoming first-year female receives a brochure over the summer about novice rowing opportunities as well as several s just before school starts, which generates a certain amount of interest. But the most effective recruiting forum is the Welcome Week Activity Fair, where my varsity posse and I accost One of the unsuspecting tall, joys of coaching athletic-looking women and try to novices is the convince them to at incredibly steep least come to a rowing information learning curve. session. All that effort paid off when 120 women came down to the boathouse to explore rowing the first week of school. While it is great to have so many people trying out for the team, the numbers can be pretty overwhelming. I was very fortunate to have help from many quarters those first few hectic weeks: alumna Allison Fast, graduate assistant Tracy Merth, last year s superstar novice assistant coach Caitlin Boon, and this year s novice assistant coaches Rachel Sartor and Rebekah Foelker. Rachel graduated from the U of M last year. Rebekah is a former Wisconsin rower who has finally seen the light and is in graduate school here at Minnesota studying physical therapy. Even last year s novice helper Kathryn Switalski made a cameo this fall when I was left assistant-less with four novices eights in a practice head race with the varsity squad in October. One of the joys of coaching novices is the incredibly steep learning curve. The first few days they could barely carry the oars down to the dock, let alone actually row together in a boat. Yet the novices were racing in just one month, at the Head of the Mississippi. We had four eights racing and swept the Novice/Freshman event, which wasn t all that difficult as we were the only entrants this year. We finally got a taste of true competition at the Head of the Iowa in late October. We knew our main foe would be the University of Iowa itself, racing on their home course. But our novice team came out strong. The Minnesota A boat won the Novice Eight event overall. The Minnesota B boat beat the Iowa B boat (as well as Colorado A boat) and the Minnesota C boat beat the Iowa C boat (as well as every other re Standing 5 feet 18 inches, Harvard graduate Peter Morgan is in his 2nd year as the Novice Coach maining team). While it was a good day for Minnesota, we know we will face much tougher competition in the spring. The rowing team is now off the water and training indoors as we transition into the challenging yet critical winter training period (for those who don t know, rowing is a true year-round sport). Winter training can be particularly challenging for novices because they don t know - can t know - how fun, challenging, rewarding the spring 2000m racing season can be. Through the selection process the novice team is now down to 30 rowers and five coxswains. We are now looking for 18 in that group to make the fastest two novice eights in the Big Ten. It s still very early, but I this group is up to it. ROW GOPHS! The Minnesota Novices triumphed over the Hawkeyes to take 1st place at the Head of the Iowa in October

4 Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing - Est 2000 Fall 2013 Head of the Charles Regatta Boston, MA October 19-20, 2013 Words from Wendy, Cont from Page 1 Head Coach Wendy Davis: October 19 and 20 found the Golden Gophers along the shores of the Charles River in Boston for what is the largest 5k race in the world, The Head of the Charles Regatta. The 1v raced on Sunday afternoon in the Championship event with teams from Canada, the United States and Europe. Estimated crowds for the weekend of racing topped 400,000 and boy it felt like it (read-crazy atmosphere!). Our 1 st varsity eight placed #16 out of 39 entries and everyone felt proud to have raced so well for our first time attending in over 7 years. Our fall season ended with the Head of the Iowa Regatta on October 27. We have raced this event every year since becoming a varsity sport and it is a great reminder of how far we ve come as a program. In 2001 we finished 10 th in the Varsity 8 event, and now we are disappointed if we don t win it. And win it we did, taking 1 st and 2 nd in the Varsity8 and winning the Novice 8 races, while placing 2 nd and 3 rd in the Varsity 4 s. On November 6th we had our last on-the-water practice. While a bit sad, I think everyone is ready for a break even if it means just using our friend the ergometer. We will continue to train smart, train well, and train with an eye toward being as excellent as we can possibly be for the Spring Season. The Gophers were featured on the cover of the Head of the Charles Program in 2002 Members of the 1st excited to race on the Charles River in Boston Co-Captain s Corner, Cont from Page 2 Captain Katherine Windsor: The work also paid off when six of us achieved the sub 2:00 time standard on our 7k to send the 1V8 to the Head of The Charles in Boston, MA and what an experience that was. Being able to race at one of the most prestigious races in all of rowing was completely unreal. The crowd, the atmosphere, the hundreds of other crews, I could not dream of any other race I would have rather competed in the fall of my senior year. Our last race, Head of the Iowa was also a successful endeavor with both the A and B eight finishing over Iowa A. It was hard to imagine closing out my last fall season as I vividly remember my first.. but through these results, I am excited and encouraged for spring season. I know we are all ready to put in the work to make this spring count and achieve a top spot at the Big Ten Championships come May! For now, it s time to finish fall semester out with a bang! Start small, dream big.

5 Fall 2013 Fall 2013 Race Results Minnesota Varsity Women's Rowing October 6, 2013 Head of the Miss Novice Minn A 19:44 2. Minn B 20:00 3. Minn D 21:05 4. Minn C 21:09 Varsity Minn C 18:23 2. Minn A 18:29 3. Minn B 19:02 4. Minn D 19:35 Open 2-1. Minn A 20:51 (tie) 2. Minn B 20:51 1. Minn B 17:13 2. Minn A 17:18 3. Minn C 18:07 October 13, 2013 Head of the Rock Varsity Minn A 17: Minn B 17: Wisco D 17: Wisco C 17: Minn C 17: Wisco A 15: Minn A 15: Wisco B 15: Wisco C 15: Minn B 15: Wisco E 15: Minn C 16: Wisco D 16:32.6 October 20, 2013 Head of the Charles 1. Cambridge 15:59 2. Team USA 16:00 3. London TC 16:16 4. Virginia 16:36 5. Yale 16:48 6. Notre Dame 16:58 7. Radcliffe 17:00 8. Michigan 17:08 9. Wisconsin 17: Virginia B 17: Clemson 17: Princeton 17: Cornell 17: Penn 17: Brown 17: Minnesota 17: Columbia 17: Princton B 17: N Eastern 17: Dartmouth 17: Temple 19:19.7 Ocotober 27, 2013 Head of the Iowa Novice Minn A 15:47 2. Iowa A 15:52 3. Minn B 16:17 4. Iowa B 16:32 5. Colorado 16: Minn C 16:52.6 Varsity Iowa A 15: Minn B 15: Minn A 15: Iowa B 16: Iowa C 16: Drake 16: Minn C 16: Minn D 16: Iowa D 17: Creighton 17:11 1. Minn A 14:04 2. Minn B 14:13 3. Iowa A 14:16 4. Iowa C 14:39 5. Minn C 14:51 Spring Schedule Jan 11, San Diego, CA Feb 9, San Diego, CA Mar 2, Sacramento, CA Mar 23, Knoxville, TN Apr 6, Boston, MA Apr 12, Michigan State Apr 26, Iowa May 4, HOME v Wisco May 18, BIG Champs June 1, NCAA Champs ************************** SAVE THE DATE February 15, 2013 Team Banquet ************************** Rowing Photography for sale, Contact Graduate Assistant Coach Tracy Merth at merth010@umn.edu

6 Follow MinnesotaRowing Once a Gopher, Always a Gopher Future Gophers Rebecca Bee Lovick (Melbourne, Australia)Lovick attended high school at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne, where she was coached by Tim Dolphin. She graduated high school in November and plans to major in political science or global studies upon her arrival at Minnesota. She has a wonderful sense of humor and has a younger brother who is a world-class sprint kayaker. Joyce Jollands (Adelaide, Australia) Jollands attended high school at Scotch College Adelaide, where she was coached by Denis Perry. She is very bright and plans to major in earth sciences as a Gopher. When she was younger, she was part of the Girl Scouts of America in Saudi Arabia. She enjoys reading and animals, particularly squirrels. Gophers past and present In January 1980, Susan Weeks was a freshman at the University of Minnesota. She and her dorm mate decided in the middle of winter to try out for the Sophomore Lisa Weeks (left) and her mother Susan (right) share a special bond spanning 32 years of Minnesota Rowing. rowing club team. She took her first stroke on the water that March during a spring training trip to Texas. The rest was history. In the fall of 1981 and 1982, the Minnesota Women s club team earned 1st place in the Head of the Charles club 8+ event. In spring 1982, Susan s lightweight 4+ won collegiate nationals. Susan recalls, As for memories, I can tell you that we traveled with very limited resources we paid our own way and rented a University van to pull the trailer and packed us all inside! I was one of the trailer drivers. We often slept on the floors of homes that someone knew or packed a hotel room with rowers. It s a long drive to Boston! Susan graduated from the University of Minnesota in the mid 1980 s with dual-degrees in Nutrition & Dietetics and in Sports Nutrition. But her rowing story was far from over. She continued rowing after college, and at one point along her journey was coached by Peter Morgan, who currently is the Head Novice Coach at the University of Minnesota. In 2000, women s rowing at the University of Minnesota became a Division I Varsity sanctioned sport. In fall 2012, Susan s daughter Lisa started her freshmen year at the University of Minnesota as a walk-on. In the spring she was voted Novice MVP by her peers. Currently a sophomore, Lisa is competing in her first season as a DI varsity rower for the Golden Gophers. After her daughter Lisa s first collegiate rowing season, Susan expressed her wishes for all Minnesota rowers. What I want for the Gopher women is to always do what it takes every day in every practice to accomplish their goals. A race is a moment in time. It is a measure of where you are at that given moment against specific crews. It s the result of those day to day practices. I row every day that I can. I truly love this sport! Rowing is lifelong and I am forever grateful for having found this sport which is very near and dear to my heart. Rowing at the University gave me so much more than athletics: teamwork, relationships that work through tough conditions, determination, perseverance. The list goes on. My hope for each and every Gopher rower is that they can truly love rowing. That they want to be at every practice (and not because they have to be there). I want them to have a sport that they can pursue beyond their college years. I want them to row fiercely on the water for their team. I want them to have friendships that only other rowers can understand. Rowers from Minnesota understand rowing in freezing temperatures through cold sleet, wind, and waves. Definitely Minnesota tough." Lisa walked on to the team as a true novice. I have a deep respect for her accomplishments. Although she has parents that row, she pursued rowing all on her own. I live in Washington DC. When I had heard that Peter Morgan was her coach, I knew she was in great hands! Minnesota Rowing th Ave SE #290 Minneapolis, MN Teresa Logemann, Assistant Coach logem006@umn.edu Give back! goldengopherfund.com Gopher Nation Help us keep you updated on all the rowing news and happenings with the team. We would also love to hear what you re up to post-rowing! We have so many successful alums and we d love to brag about you! Let us know about a new job, a wedding, a relocation, a baby, a completed degree, etc. Send updates to: Wendy Davis at davis194@umn.edu 1974 Club Team National Champions