On March 25-26, the women’s rowing team won six races to complete the second weekend of the Division II Duals and start their season at 12-2. The first weekend, March 18-19, the team won six of eight races, only losing to Columbia University.
“They were good wins and they certainly put us on the right path for the season with the past two regattas,” said Head Coach John Gartin. “The next several regattas are much larger with a broader scope of competition and that’s going to be telling as to how we match up against the other teams in the region.”
Lauren Boudreaeu, sophomore biology major, said, “I think going into the duals we were a little bit anxious to see where we fell among the rest of the conference in our region. We had great results and we set the groundwork for the rest of the semester.”
Four out of five women on the championship Varsity 4 boat have returned this year. Kayla Wieseckel junior biology and exercise science major, was a part of the team when they won the national championships two years ago.
She said, “We go into every race fresh, never wanting to underestimate our opponents. We were hoping to win, and we exceeded our expectations.”
Gartin said the team is hoping to win another championship.
“It’s going to be tough. We have to really work hard from here on out, [both] off and on the water,” he said.
Nineteen freshmen were added to the roster for the 2010-2011 year, putting the total number of rowers at 42. Gartin said the freshmen add to the team’s success.
“The freshmen class this year was the deepest and fastest class that we’ve brought in to date. They have made a huge impact and they keep getting better,” said Gartin, “They’re also elevating everybody else’s game too.”
Wieseckel said, “We doubled in size. We have so much more depth than we had in the past. Hopefully, that will be used to our advantage to help us get to nationals again.”
Gartin said soon the team hopes to add two events to their schedule at regional regattas: a Freshmen 8 and a Lightweight 4 boat.
