University of Minnesota Athletics
Davis Previews Season Opener
10/6/2017 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Gopher Rowing head coach Wendy Davis sat down with GopherSports.com ahead of the team's season-opening outing at the Head of the Mississippi in Minneapolis. For more details on the event, click here.
GopherSports.com: What were your expectations for the team coming into the fall, and how have the first few weeks of practice gone in relation to those?
"We actually had a lot of expectations coming into this year. Two years ago in August [before the 2016 season], we were saying 'look, we don't know how good we will be for 2017, but 2018, we think we can be good.' We were progressing nicely last year until the flu hit us during the racing season, but all of those people that were helping us be encouraged in 2017 returned. They're that much better now that they have experience and understand what it's all about.
What does it mean when I say 'good?' Anybody that predicts how good they're going to be is just full of it because you just don't know. A good example is how we are missing two of our best starboards right now due to injury and the boats really haven't slowed down much. Whereas in years past, and especially last year, if that happened, we would have been bog-slow, but now, we aren't missing a beat. So, that gives me a good feeling that we can ride out the inevitable injuries and illness.
GS: Turnover can be very commonplace in the sport of rowing. Have any newcomers surprised you in their performances yet this fall? Are any newcomers particularly exciting at this point in the season?
"Our three international freshmen are doing a great job for us - Darcy Jennings, Rosie Gladding, and Sarah Reimann. At this point, they are exceeding our expectations and way ahead of any other freshmen recruit we have brought in. So, that is fun. Every year there is pleasant surprises and unpleasant surprises. Taylor Gilbertson is figuring things out. She's the standout novice from last year. Those four newcomers are doing a nice job. The fact that they are in my group speaks volumes."
GS: Among the returners from the varsity level a season ago, who has stepped up as a leader of the team in the first weeks of practice?
"Our two captains, Kortney Luedloff and Lauren Miller, are doing a stellar job. We have had good captains before, but those two are taking it to another level. They are holding the rest of the team accountable. They're having meetings and talking about nutrition. So, even though we are doing it [as a coaching staff], they are taking it on and planning a brunch together on Saturday morning to talk about stuff. As always, our senior class are all leaders in some form or fashion which is wonderful."
GS: While not technically the hosts of the Head of the Mississippi, you do get to start the season "at home." How important is it to the team to start with their first meet at home?
"It's really fun, and we are going to win! Because we are the only Division I team there, we are going to win whatever events we are in, but it's fun to have that intrasquad competition while people are here watching and other athletes are around. Sometimes, you compare your times to some of the men's times or different boat classes. You go, 'how close are we to the men's four' or that kind of thing. So, that's fun. We didn't have to get on a bus or a plane. Parents get to be here. All of that makes it a really festive atmosphere. Even though it's much shorter than a normal workout - we aren't doing nearly the normal work, it's a lot of fun. They get a lot out of it."
GS: I'm sure I'm not the only newcomer to the sport of rowing who comes specifically to check out this event and support the U. What can a newcomer expect from the atmosphere at the Head of the Mississippi?
"Now, the current is really fast right now - probably the fastest it's been since I got here for this regatta. You race against the current, which means that if the coxswain gets you into the current, you might be the faster boat, but you might lose. The coxswains have to be very smart about where they go on the river. Normally, a 5K for a women's eight would be 15 to 17 minutes in duration, but because the current is so fast, this might be 22 minutes long. The poor novices, it might literally take them half an hour.
"Headraces are interesting because each boat starts 10 seconds behind the next one. So, it's not like a track meet where everyone is in a line and it's 'on your mark, get set, go.' As a spectator, you just see them going by one at a time and you have no idea whether they are winning or losing. So, that's weird, but on the other hand, as long as it's not a horrible day weather-wise, it's just fun to be out there and see everybody."
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