The Wisconsin women's crew teams will be hard at work this weekend as they race conference and non-conference rivals in two different regattas. The openweight crew team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten Championships on Saturday while the lightweight team heads to Princeton, N.J., to have a dual race with Princeton, a perennial crew powerhouse.
The Wisconsin women's lightweight team heads into the race against Princeton ranked No. 5 in the country in the U.S. Rowing Coach's Collegiate Poll. Princeton is ranked No. 1 in the country in the same poll.
Even though the Badgers are facing the No. 1 team in the country this weekend, Miller said the team's race plan does not change on race day. The goal going into every race is for each boat to row to its full potential.
You have to go out and have your best race no matter what,"" Miller said. ""You're going to go out and do the best you can, and hope that it's better than the best that the other people can do.""
The weather has finally been on the team's side for the past couple weeks, and Miller said the consistent time on the water has allowed Wisconsin to make improvements and catch up to other teams who have not faced the same challenges.
Miller said the race against Princeton offers a chance for Wisconsin to row a complete 2,000 meters and progress to bigger races at the end of the season.
""I'd like to see us put together a full race the whole way down and just show our improvement,"" he said.
The Big Ten Championships are the first of three championship regattas in a row for the women's openweight crew team. Head coach Bebe Bryans said races are all about timing, and the team is excited to see where they stand after two weeks of good weather and consistent practices on the water.
""We haven't gone as fast [in races] as we need to yet, but I've seen good speed now, so it's just a matter of whether or not we can get it out at the moment that we need to get it out,"" Bryans said.
Bryans said this weekend is also a good opportunity to tailor the boat's race plans even further. The general structure of a race - a quick start, a settle period and then a base pace - is the same for each boat. However, Bryans tailors the plan to the rowers in each individual boat.
""I write it up based on the strengths that I see and notice from their winter training,"" she said. ""Then we refine it as we go through the races.""
Though Bryans said the weather in Michigan is supposed to be less than favorable for the regatta this weekend, she said her team is ready to plunge forward into the most challenging part of the season.
""Bring it on,"" Bryans said. ""If it's rowable, we'll be out in it.
