It was an up and down day for the No. 14 women's rowing team at the Big Ten Rowing Championship Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana. With the NCAA Central/Southern Regional on the horizon, this would be one of the last two opportunities for the Badgers to make their case that they deserved to compete in the 2005 NCAA Rowing Championships.
With six Big Ten teams ranked in the top 20 nationally, the Badgers knew the weekend would be difficult. Seeded fourth coming into Saturday, the Badgers failed to improve their pre-race status, though they were able to finish above first-seed Michigan.
The day started off well after the second novice eight won its sixth-straight Big Ten title. However, only one point ahead of Ohio State, they fell to third after the novice eight finished fourth. They rebounded when the second varsity four took first, moving Wisconsin into a tie for second. After the varsity four finished second, the Badgers took sole possession of the lead, but with four teams within nine points, the day was just beginning.
After placing third in the second varsity eight, Wisconsin dropped to second place and, with one race left, the Badgers were in prime position to steal the lead and take home first place. Unfortunately, the Badgers' varsity eight boat managed only fourth place, dropping the team to third place overall-24 points behind Michigan State who took home first. The Badgers finished the day with 106 points edging out fourth-place Michigan by three points.
Although the Badgers did not capture first or second, the outing was encouraging, as Wisconsin placed above Michigan and Minnesota, ranked third and 15th in the nation, respectively.
The Badgers are still very close to solidifying their spot in the NCAAs. They now have a two-week break before competing in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the NCAA Central/Southern Regional May 14. This will mark only the second time in a month that the Badgers have been on the water, after the Midwest Rowing Championship was cancelled after one race April 23. If Wisconsin can perform well in its last regatta, it should have no problem racing again in Sacramento for the NCAA Championships.
??-Justin Dreyfuss
