University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers In Fourth Place at Lake Natoma Invite
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
The University of Minnesota rowing team completed the first day of the two-day Lake Natoma Invitational, today in Gold River, Calif. Minnesota is currently in fourth place (nine teams) with 25 points, while co-host California and Wisconsin hold the lead with 36 points.
During the morning session, the Gophers held 13 points and were in fourth place. Minnesota earned a win in the Varsity Four competition over Stanford and Sacramento State. The Gopher boat of coxswain Monika Folker, Teresa Logemann, Tracy Merth, Kate Ladell and Christine Cira won the event in a time of 7:27.25. The Gophers entered the first 500 meters with the lead and continued to pull away from the second-place Stanford boat throughout the race, including the second 500 meters when the Gophers held over a three-second lead. Stanford finished behind the Gophers in 7:33.97, while Sacramento State crossed the line in 8:17.32.
In the Second Varsity Eight and the First Varsity Eight, Stanford was victorious over the Gophers. In the 2V8 race, Stanford jumped out to a three-second lead over the Gophers and continued to push a lead throughout the race. Minnesota’s boat of Ilana Ostrin, Michele Peterson, Emily Baxter, Allison Fisher, Erin Desmond, Rebekah Brzozowski, Tina Cho, Sarah Krueger and Molly Kalmoe finished the race in 6.57.58 to Stanford’s time of 6.40.37.
The Gophers’ 1V8 finished second in their heat behind second-ranked Stanford. Minnesota’s boat of Lisa Pugh, Katherine Johnson, Ashlee Vilmo, Stephanie Bakkum, Lucy Mulvey, Jenna Schuder, Sarah Graham, Cassie Drozynski and coxswain Erica Niemiec chipped in a time of 6.41.76, but Stanford crossed the line in 6.33.66 for the win.
In the afternoon session, the Gophers would face No. 3 California and Texas in all three events, finishing second in all three races. In V4 action, Cal held a lead through the first 500 meters and earned the eventual win with a time of 7:26.84. Minnesota was second in 7:31.78, while the Texas was third in 7:54.02.
Minnesota’s next action came in the 2V8 as the Gophers posted a time of 6:57.21. The Bears won the race in 6:42.00, while the Longhorns finished third in 6:57.69. Minnesota’s final action of the day came in the 1V8, where the Gophers finished second. Cal won in 6:28.09, while Minnesota finished in 6:45.93 and Texas was third in 6:51.63.
The Gophers will face Tennessee and UCLA in all three races tomorrow. The Gophers will hold lane 1 in all events, while Tennessee is in lane 2 and UCLA is in lane three. Minnesota starts action at 8:10 a.m. (PT) in the Varsity Four, 8:40 a.m. in the 2V8 and 9:10 a.m. in Varsity Eight action. Minnesota’s 20th-ranked Varsity Eight will face the No. 19 Bruins tomorrow morning.
Players Mentioned
