University of Minnesota Athletics
ROW: Gophers Complete First Day at Aramark South/Central Sprints
5/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The first varsity four, finished in second place in its preliminary heat with a time of 7:34.6, behind Virginia. Minnesota’s varsity four boat consists of Leah Gross as coxswain, Megan Stuhlfaut at stroke, Katie Engel, Maggie Armstrong and Tina Cho at bow. In its semifinal race, the varsity four finished third in 7:32.5 to advance to the grand final. The other five teams qualifying for tomorrow’s grand final in this event are Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Virginia, Michigan State, and Michigan.
Minnesota’s second varsity eight finished third in its opening race of the day, with a time of 6:51.1. Placing first in the race was Michigan, followed by Wisconsin. In its semifinal race, Minnesota placed fifth behind Virginia, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. The Gophers’ time of 7:01.8 in the semifinals earned the squad a spot in tomorrow’s petite final. The second varsity eight boats includes coxswain Kristi Branigan, Jenna Buskohl at stroke, Liz Ponder, Sally Olson, Andrea Pierce, May Ann Weinzierl, Katherine Casey, Heidi Bechtel and Katie Biese at bow. The Gophers will compete against Clemson, Duke, Tennessee, Texas, and Indiana in the petite final on Sunday.
In the first varsity eight event, Minnesota’s boat placed second in the preliminaries with a time of 6:33.16, while Ohio State won the race with a time of 6:29.6. The Gophers went on to finish fourth in the semifinals with a time of 6:35.5. Virginia was the winner of the semifinal race, and was followed by Michigan State and Wisconsin. With the fourth-place finish in the semifinal race, the Gophers advance to the petite final, and will race against Indiana, Notre Dame, Louisville, Iowa, and Central Florida on Sunday. Minnesota’s first varsity eight boat included Megan Flannery as coxswain, Cheryl Wick at stroke, Beth Ratterman, Vilma Stragyte, Jillian Casey, Laura Jatautaite, Erika Bartkute, Berit Tomten in the No. 2 seat and Lida Storch at bow.
Tomorrow’s event will begin at 9 a.m., with Minnesota’s first race, the first varsity four grand final, scheduled for 10:40 a.m.
