University of Minnesota Athletics

Gopher Rowing Wins 2007 Big Ten Championship in Dominating Fashion

4/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing

In just seven seasons since the inception of the University of Minnesota rowing program, the Golden Gophers earned its first-ever Big Ten Championship, today in Madison, Wisconsin on Lake Wingra. The Gophers dominated the championship as they set a Big Ten Championship record for the most points scored with 150. The Gophers won four of six races and advanced all six boats to the Grand Finals. The Maroon and Gold held a 33-point advantage over second-place Michigan, who had 117 points, while Ohio State rounded out the top three with 103 points.

The Gophers won the Second Varsity Eight, the First and Second Varsity Four races and the First Novice Eight. It was the first time in school history that the Gophers won the Second Varsity Eight Grand Final. The First and Second Varsity Four wins marks the second straight year the Gophers have won their races and the third in school history for the First Novice Eight. “I'm so excited of what we've accomplished today,' head coach Wendy Davis said. “Talk about a team effort. We medaled in every event and won all but two races. It really shows a great team effort.'Since the start of the rowing program in the 2000-01 season, head coach Wendy Davis and the Gophers have steadily moved up the Big Ten Championship standings. After finishing fifth in the conference in 2004 and 2005, the Maroon and Gold placed second at last year's championship and now earned a Big Ten title in 2007. Along with the team award, Jenny Barnes and Cheryl Wick were named to the All-Big Ten First Team, while Sally Olson and Erika Bartkute were named second-team All-Big Ten. Wick, the Gophers' team captain, was also named to the Big Ten's Sportsmanship award.

“The Big Ten is such a tough conference to compete in with the four-boat finals,' Davis said. “It shows how fierce the Big Ten really is. Up until last year, we had finished fifth for so long and then saw improvement when we finished second last year. We only graduated five from last year's second-place team so we knew that we had some great leaders in our boats. It was a great thing to see them perform so well.'

The order of events began with the Second Novice Eight and finished with the Grand Final of the First Varsity Eight. The racing conditions were against tailwind over six miles per hour and 65 degrees. The Golden Gophers started the morning with a third-place finish in the Second Novice Eight heat at 8:15 a.m. The boat of Anna Barberio, Megan Lenarz, Meredith Lee, Katelyn Nichols, Kate Lindgren, Katie Jones, Megan McClanahan, Amanda Schutte and Monika Folker finished the race in a time of 6:41.654. Wisconsin finished first in the team, followed by Michigan (6:32.686) and Minnesota.

The Gophers' Second Novice Eight finished in the same fashion as their heat, in third behind Michigan and Wisconsin. The Wolverines clocked a time of 6:25.792, while the Badgers added a time of 6:28.538, followed by Minnesota in 6:31.297. Iowa followed the Gophers in fourth (6:36.949) followed by Ohio State in 7:10.266.

The Gophers added their second Grand Final team in two races, this time in the First Novice Eight. Minnesota's group of Jayme Lehman, Michele Peterson, Jessica Norman, Abby Tomasek, Jenna Schuder, Christine Cira, Brenna Galvin, Taylor Kimbel and Michelle Murphy added a second-place finish in their heat with a time of 6:14.438. Wisconsin won their heat with a time of 6:10.442.

Minnesota drew lane four in the Grand Final. The Gophers cruised to a win in the event with a time of 6:29.248. The Gophers edged out Wisconsin, who finished with a time of 6:30.929, while Iowa placed third (6:33.324) and Michigan State (6:34.395). It is the fourth Grand Final win under novice coach John Flynn in his four-year tenure. In his first two years under Flynn, the Gophers' First Novice Eight won the Grand Final, while at the Big Tens last year, Flynn's Second Novice Eight team won their respective event.

“Our novice eight finished 11th at the Head of the Iowa earlier this fall,' Davis said. It really goes to show how great of a job John has done working with our novice group. To pull off a win was really great.'

Minnesota's Second Varsity Four of coxswain Alanna Hjortland, Tracey Tallman at stroke, Liz Ponder, Lisa Pugh and Jessica Veit won their heat in a time of 6:55.973. With their finish, the Gophers were assigned lane three for the Grand Finals. Minnesota held over a three-second lead over second-place Wisconsin for the Big Ten win. The Maroon and Gold crossed the finish line with a time of 7:00.300, while the Badgers finished in 7:03.739. The Second Varsity Four, who fell to Wisconsin in the double dual earlier this year (April 14), won the Grand Final for the second consecutive year.

The Gophers' First Varsity Four finished second in their respective morning heat behind Michigan State. The Gopher boat of Erica Niemiec, Lauren Van Proosdy, Rebecca Brzozowski, Rachel Hotkowski and Emily Baxter clocked a time of 6:58.736, but MSU added a winning heat time of 6:52.232.

Minnesota followed their heat with a lane-four assignment. The Gophers finished exactly where they were seeded as the No. 1 seed and a win in the event. The Gophers finished in a time of 7:00.306 in front of OSU (7:02.872), Michigan State (7:03.293) and Wisconsin in fourth (7:14.714). It was the second straight year under coach Libby Sharrow that both of the Gopher fours have won their Big Ten championship races.

“This is the second year that we've swept the small boat competition,' Davis said. “It goes to show that Libby has done a masterful job with that group. I'm really proud of them that they were able to win in back-to-back years.'

Minnesota's Second Varsity Eight boat of coxswain Kaja Tally, Mary Ann Weinzerl, Christine O'Donnell, Maggie Armstrong, Catherine Casey, Ashley Vilmo, Sarah Graham, Heidi Bechtel and Katie Johnson, won their respective heat with a time of 6:01.233. They defeated Michigan State, who finished second in the heat (6:07.802).

Just as the 1V4 had done, the Gophers 2V8 finished just as they had been seeded, at No. 1. The Gophers clocked a time of 6:09.117, finishing over a second ahead of Ohio State's boat time of 6:10.741. Michigan State added a third-place finish (6:13.823) and Michigan was fourth (6:28.291).

“We have some great depth in our program and it really shows when you see our Second Varsity Eight and Fours,' Davis said. “Our 2V8 held a commanding lead and competed well in some terrible conditions. They are used to having open water and this was a larger battle then they have seen in the past. They handled it well from start to finish.'

In the Gophers' First Varsity Eight heat, the Gophers finished second behind the third-ranked team in the country, Ohio State. The boat of Megan Flannery, Laura Jatautaite, Cheryl Wick, Jenny Barnes, Erika Bartkute, Vilma Stragyte, Sally Olson, Berit Tomten, Jenna Buskohl clocked a time of 6:01.100, but OSU finished in a time of 5:59.433.

The Gophers were assigned lane four in the Grand Final between Michigan and Michigan State. The Gophers were in fourth place with 300 meters to go, but pulled ahead of MSU, OSU and Wisconsin to place second overall. The Wolverines won the 1V8 Grand Final with a time of 5:57.453, while the Gophers placed second in 5:59.149. The Spartans were third (6:00.265), followed by OSU in fourth (6:01.786) and the Badgers in fifth (6:11.233).

“I'm really pleased to how our First Varsity Eight responded to adversity,' Davis said. Their speaker system went out when they were on the water so they didn't know how fast they were going and couldn't hear our coxswain Megan. Luckily, they got their bearings and were able to finish second. I'm happy that they were able to race well with the distraction.'

Minnesota will take a week off to prepare for the regional sprints, May 12-13 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Gophers will then hope to make the NCAA Championships, also in Oak Ridge, Tenn., May 25-27.

This week the Gopher rowing program will hold a grand opening for their newly constructed boathouse on May 4 from 2-4 p.m., at the East River Flats Park.

Team Standings
1. Minnesota 150
2. Michigan 117
3. Ohio State 103
4. Michigan St. 102
5. Wisconsin 87
6. Iowa 49
7. Indiana 33
All-Big Ten
Jenny Barnes, First Team
Cheryl Wick, First Team
Erika Bartkute, Second Team
Sally Olson, Second Team Sportsmanship Award
Cheryl Wick

Players Mentioned

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Head of the Mississippi Hype
Wednesday, October 08
Third Varsity Four Wins Again at B1G Invite
Monday, April 21
Second Novice Eight Wins at B1G Invite
Monday, April 21
First Varsity Four Wins at B1G Invite
Saturday, April 19