University of Minnesota Athletics
ROW: Gophers Finish Fifth in Big Ten Championships
4/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Minnesota's 15th-ranked First Varsity Eight was in the same heat as No. 3 Michigan and No. 14 Wisconsin. The Gophers finished third in their morning heat, finishing in a time of 6:30.93. The Wolverines won the heat in a time of 6:29.77, while the Badgers finished second in the heat in 6:30.17. With their time, the Gophers competed in the Petite Final. The Gophers' boat of coxswain Megan Flannery, Beth Ratterman at stroke, Cheryl Wick, Jillian Casey Vilma Stragyte at the No. 5 seat, Erika Bartkute, Laura Jatautaite, Lida Storch and Berit Tomten at bow won the Petite Final over Indiana and Iowa with a time of 6: 31.30.27.
"I am very pleased with the way the team performed today," head coach Wendy Davis said. "Although we finished fifth place, it's a fifth place finish with an asterisk by it. We competed very well in our heat and coming that close to the third- place team in the nation (Michigan) is very promising. It was a killer race, but everyone from the First Varsity Eight to the Novice teams did extremely well."
The Gophers' Second Varsity Eight finished second in the Petite Final. Kristi Branigan as coxswain, Katie Biese at stroke, Megan Stuhlfaut, Andrea Pierce, Heidi Bechtel, Katie Engel, Maggie Armstrong, Rachel Hotkowski and Tracey Tallman at bow, finished in a time of 6: 45.82 to earn 12 points for the Gophers. Ohio State won the Grand Final with a time of 6: 28.52, while Indiana won the Petite Final with a time of 6:45.20.
Minnesota had two shells compete in Varsity Four action. In the First Varsity Four, the Gophers finished fourth in the Grand Final. The boat of coxswain Leah Gross, Liz Ponder, Maggie Armstrong, Tina Cho and Tallman finished the race in a time of 7:28.43, while MSU won with a time of 7:19.30. In Second Varsity Four action, Minnesota won the Petite Final. Coxswain Kaja Tally, Angela Reesman, Shauna Frank, Sam Wangsgard and Jennifer Sharpe clocked a time of 7:46.30.
For the second year in a row, Minnesota's First Novice Eight won the Grand Final at the Big Ten Championships. The boat of Stephanie Holzwart, Paige Hanson, Lauren Van Proosdy, Katie Simpson, Kit Casey, Mary Ann Weinzierl, Erika Stillman, Alissa Almquist and Christine O'Donnell clocked a winning time of 6:44.20. Last year, the Gophers won the Grand Final with a time of 7:00.8.
In Second Varsity Eight, the Gophers finished third in the Grand Final. Coxswain Alanna Hjortland, Katherine Groth, Synnoeve Flesland, Carina Enbody, Kelsey Underdahl, Amanda Howlett, Kali Wolfgram, Teresa DeTrempe and Claire Dalton chipped in a time of 7:13.13, while the Badgers won the race in 7:08.10.
The Gophers are idle next weekend, but return to action May 14-15 when they compete in regional competition. The Gophers head to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to compete in the Central/ South Region Sprints.
