UW Badger rowing teams had a successful day of racing Saturday at the 2007 Midwest Rowing Championships. The event, held in Madison on Lake Wingra, was a chance for the teams to apply months of hard work during winter training to race situations on the water.
The women's crew teams raced each other for a good portion of the regatta, sometimes having up to five Wisconsin boats in one race. The lightweight women, who are ranked No.1 in the nation, won three out of the five events they entered against the openweight teams. The lightweight novice women eight won the novice eight race in 6:28.3, as well as the second openweight eight race in 6:41.0.
The openweight four B boat won their heat early in the morning, and went on to win their final in 7:02.9.
The pairs also had a chance to race on Saturday in a line-up featuring only Wisconsin boats. Lightweights Kristin Hedstrom and Margot Schoellkopf came away with the win in 7:25.8.
Badger men raced on Saturday as well, and swept every event they entered. The closest race of the day came when the No.8 Badgers raced No.14 Michigan in the men's varsity eight race. Wisconsin won in 5:14.6, while Michigan came in second with a time of 5:15.8.
Coach Chris Clark was proud of his team and their accomplishments on Saturday. ""We are happy to get a win any way we can against a team like Michigan. All our boats did quite well, as well. The performances were pretty good.""
The spring racing season continues for both teams in the coming weeks. Next weekend, the openweight women will host the 2007 Big Ten Championships on Lake Wingra, while the lightweight women head to Indianapolis to compete against Ohio State, Georgetown and Stanford. The men race again on May 5 for the Cochrance Cup on the Connecticut River in Hanover, N.H. The race will feature Dartmouth and M.I.T. Then they will race Boston University on the Charles River for the Jablonic Cup on May 6.
