University of Minnesota Athletics
2013-14 Rowing Season Preview
10/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Oct. 1, 2013
The University of Minnesota rowing program opens its 2013-14 season with this weekend's Head of the Mississippi regatta, and head coach Wendy Davis is excited about her team's level of experience heading into the year. The Gophers will compete at four regattas during the fall, including the prestigious Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass.
Generally speaking, what are your expectations for the upcoming season?
"We are hoping to build off of last year. We were able to beat Michigan State and Wisconsin during the regular season, but we weren't able to carry that into the Big Ten Championships. So that is our next step - to say, 'Alright, this is who we are, and we are confident in that.' What we are doing now is building a sense of confidence. They know what they are doing, and they can rely on what is happening in practices to carry into race day."
The team had a strong performance at the 2013 US Rowing Club National Championships. Would you like to expand on that?
"We have been running the development camp for five years, and two summers ago, we won the intermediate event, which is the B-level event. Then, last summer (2012), we won the senior event, which is the primary event, and silvered in the intermediate four. This is the first year we made the final for the senior four event. We have always had some of our best people go to development camp, but it just shows that our best are getting better and better. That is what we are building off of, as well. We have Lynn Hodnett and Katherine Windsor who were in the first varsity eight last year, and absolutely belonged, but were still pretty raw as far as their racing experience. They learned a lot last season, and carried that into the summer races. Now, you can see their level of confidence - it is like they have seen it all. You know what it is like when those athletes come through, and they get it, they become confident, and they know nothing is going to throw them through the loop. That is really different because we have not had that for a long time. As that filters down through the team, you know what you are doing."
What would you say the team's greatest strengths are?
"The fact that our leaders are becoming tremendously confident, with good reason, they are working with confidence, and that is a big thing for us. We have also had more people rowing and racing this summer than we have ever had. They leave for the summer, and they are doing their thing, so those people are coming back changed for the better. That gives me great hope."
When they go for the summer to compete, do most of them train individually or do groups try to intentionally get together to compete?
"We intentionally get together. We have our development camp that is sanctioned from our governing body, U.S. Rowing, and we have had the most we have ever had there. Then we had a few people go to their local rowing clubs, as well."
Who are a few of the rowers to keep an eye on this season?
"We always hope that everybody builds strength, so we hope they've all worked hard over the summer and are ready to come back for the season. Elisabeth Bott is someone who seems to have greatly improved with her summer rowing. She has been a pleasant surprise. Lisa Weeks, who spent time in the Washington, DC, area, also has come back very polished. They all have things to work on, obviously, but it is so clear that they trained smart and well, and are going to be a force."
What are going to be the highlights and the challenges this season?
"We are going back to the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston, which is the biggest regatta in the nation. That will be a lot of fun, since we have not been there since 2005. At the beginning of the fall, we have an erg test with a time standard. We needed a certain amount of athletes to pass that standard, and we did, so we accepted the entry. That will be a highlight for us in the fall. Elite teams like USA Rowing and the Canadian national team will be there. There are fifty boats competing, and our top eight will be going. All of the other regattas will have our entire varsity team competing. The nice thing about the Head of the Charles is that it is highly subscribed, and there could be 50,000 people on shore on a nice day. It is a very windy course and there are a lot of bridges, which means there will be crashes. It is a little bit like NASCAR in that way. They start in the order of finish from the previous year, and because we have not been there before, we wait until everyone who has been there before is assigned a number, then it is a random draw. We could be behind a school that is forty seconds slower than us, but you just have to time how you are passing them. It is a very unique event."
What are some of the other highlights you're looking forward to this season?
"We have our first home event at the Head of the Mississippi this weekend, and we will finish our fall schedule with the Head of the Iowa. Our spring schedule will be a little bit different since we are heading up to Sacramento for our second scrimmage, which we have never done before. We will be scrimmaging against Cal Berkeley and Sacramento State. There is a weekend race in Tennessee during spring break. Sometimes I do not like to do that one because if you have not been in the water for a while, and you begin your spring break with a bad weekend of racing, you develop bad habits for the rest of spring break. I am hoping with the two scrimmages, we will have enough water time that we can handle that event."
What about the Big Ten Championships this year?
"The Big Ten Championships will be in Indianapolis again. It is extremely competitive. The last two years, Michigan State was second in the NCAA and Ohio State won it, so we are a highly-competitive league. In a lot of sports, you have to win the conference and then hope you get an invite. But, if you win the Big Ten rowing title, the chances are you are the top three in the country."
How have preseason workouts been going so far?
"I am encouraged, and it goes back to the work people put in work during the summer. It is clear who has prepared well. We have a sound system in place that we use to mark progress. It's fun to coach this team, because last year's novices are the best prepared that we have ever had, and I am so excited to be working with them. They are the real deal, and as we go into the season, they are going to help us greatly down the road. One of the things I am most excited about is that our staff is returning. Last year was new for both of my assistants. There is continuity after last year, which was a steep-learning curve. What a difference a year makes. It feels so much lighter, and we are ready to go. Throughout the team, the attitude is great. Every one of these women is such a quality individual."
Players Mentioned
