University of Minnesota Athletics
Head of the Mississippi Preview
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
The University of Minnesota rowing team, with one race under their belt, will return to the water this weekend at home in the Head of the Mississippi Regatta. Their first competition came last Saturday at the Head of the Des Moines, in which the Gophers claimed first place in two out of the four races in which they competed.
Head of the Mississippi
Host: Minneapolis Rowing Club
When: Saturday, October 3
Time:
10:15 a.m. - Open 2-
10:45 a.m. - Novice 4+
11:45 p.m. - Open 1x
2:00 p.m. - Varsity 4+
2:30 p.m. - Novice 8+
4:30 p.m. - Varsity 8+
Where: Mississippi River, Minneapolis
Race Coverage: Results posted live on regattamaster.com and will be followed by a post-race story on Gophersports.com/wrowing.
More info:
www.regattacentral.com
http://headofthemiss.com
Head coach Wendy Davis recently caught up with GopherSports.com to discuss the fall season.
GS: What are your expectations for the team going into the fall season?
WD: "First and foremost we want to make sure that we are improving exponentially each race. We always say that we are a young team but that is because most of our rowers haven't rowed in high school. So you make mistakes along the way and they are busy making mistakes right now, whereas if they rowed in high school they would've made them there. That's where we are right now with trying to come up with these talented athletes and turning them into talented rowers."
GS: What can your returning rowers improve on from last year?
WD: "Always fitness and always the technical aspect. Finding that three or four one-hundredths of a second as they are putting the blade in the water. We can always improve on that."
GS: Are there any new additions to the team that stick out to you?
WD: "Kortney Luedloff, she's stepping up, she was a novice from last year. She did our summer development camp and is coming out strong. Lauren Miller is really figuring things out. She's tall and she's strong but she was stiff last year and is learning how to be relaxed with her effort, relaxed with her power."
GS: Who are you leaning on for leadership next year?
WD: "The entire senior class. Our captains, Taylor Gainey and Jessica Flakne. They are really good captains so we are blessed to have them. We lean on them so much for things like when people are upset. They can smooth the waters and show them 'here's what's going on'. Also Taylor has been our first Varsity 8 coxswain for two years now. She's doing a great job so she's absolutely leading the group. Jess Flakne was in the first Varsity 8 last year and is vying for a spot this year. They are legitimate athletes but also really great people for the other athletes to rely on off the water."
GS: How do you change the focus and preparation between fall and spring?
WD: "The fall is the endurance time and the races correspond to what we are doing training wise. You have to build that base, that cardiovascular base that you are going to build on. Rowing has the highest CO2 max output out of all the sports. You have to do a lot to take advantage of that the workload is quite tremendous. The fall races last anywhere from 15-20 minutes, the spring races last about six and a half to seven."
GS: Although you don't have team practices, how do you help the team stay prepared through the off-season?
WD: "We try and stress the fact that you don't get faster sitting on the couch. Frankly, I love the saying that the swim team has - by the way the swimmers are learning how to erg; we are spending three weeks with them, two mornings a week - their shirts say "Work Works." That says it all so I'm going to steal it from them. Work works, sitting on the couch isn't work; eating Bon-Bons doesn't qualify as work. If you want to be good, go work."
GS: How nice is it to have your second meet at home?
WD: "It's really fun! We are really the only Division I school that shows up (at the Head of the Mississippi). We are going to win, we are going to win every event we enter but it's a chance to be at home. It's a chance to get excited and represent Golden Gopher Rowing."
Head of the Mississippi Team Lineups
10:15 a.m. - Women's Open 2-
Minnesota A - Jessica Flakne, Haley Bagley
Minnesota B - Emily Stock, Anna Cruse
Minnesota C - Jaime Friscia, Kortney Luedloff
Minnesota D - Joyce Jollands, Sara Scarbro
Minnesota E - Madison Koch, Lisa Weeks
10:45 a.m. - Women's Novice 4+
Minnesota A - Terlion, Spahr, Rieser, Hetico, Beverage
11:45 a.m. - Women's Open 1x
Minnesota A - McKenzie Lukacs
Minnesota B - Lauren Miller
Minnesota C - Olivia Zoner
2:00 p.m. - Women's Collegiate 4+
Minnesota A - Alyssa Chu-Tom, Anna Greene, Kersten Schwanz, Allison Sterneman, Allison Martinez
Minnesota B - Maighdlin Shaughnessy, Catherine Ahrens, Lauren Gonsalves, Bee Lovick, Elizabeth Palmi
Minnesota C - Abbey Hauser, Brianna Boileau, Emily Appold, Emily Stock, Elisabeth Hiebel
Minnesota D - Abigail Lundstrom, Melissa Foster, Kristina Swanson, Maura Dahl, Maggie Bieber
2:30 p.m. - Women's Novice 8+
Minnesota A - Terlion, Hetico, Nelson, Platt, Heemstra, Wargo, Guenther, Ericksen, VanCamp
Minnesota B - Peterson, Spahr, Rieser, Anderson, Beverage, Rollay, Bostwick, Joyce, McGrath
Minnesota C - Kamath, Harvieux, Whittier, Ricard, Doeksen, Larsen, Van Laarhoven, Stomberg, Haire
4:30 p.m. - Women's Collegiate 8+
Minnesota A - Taylor Gainey, Joyce Jollands, Jessica Flakne, Lauren Miller, Anna Greene, Haley Bagley, Sara Scarbro, Lisa Weeks, Kortney Luedloff
Minnesota B - Meredith Kelly, Lauren Gonsalves, Kersten Schwanz, Madison Koch, Catherine Ahrens, Allison Sterneman, Jaime Friscia, McKenzie Lukacs, Anna Cruse
Minnesota C - Alyssa Chu-Tom, Elizabeth Palmi, Caleigh Hensley, Emily Appold, Allison Martinez, Melissa Foster, Kristina Swanson, Elisabeth Hiebel, Olivia Zoner
Players Mentioned
