At least 235 boats and team members from over 35 universities were sent home from Lake Wingra Saturday due to the cancellation of the 33rd annual Midwest Rowing Championships. The tournament was cancelled as a result of severe weather conditions.
The only race that took place was the first heat of the men's novice four. High winds caused a University of Chicago boat in that heat to get swamped and sink. The officials then called off further racing because of the obviously unsafe conditions.
Wind gusts reached a 20 mile-per-hour range on Saturday and the wind chill caused temperatures to reach the low 30s and high 20s.
All three Wisconsin teams were set to race in the Championships on Saturday. The tournament would have been the lightweight women's first home race this season.
The men's team will go on the road next Saturday to compete with Dartmouth and MIT at the Coltrane Cup. The women's lightweight team will row at Purdue Saturday, and the open weight women will compete at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind.
-Laura Ferguson
