Wildcats Show Improvement With Close Finishes in San Diego
Apr 06, 2003 | Rowing
April 6, 2003
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Kansas State's varsity eight placed sixth in the petite final of the Jessop-Whittier Cup on Sunday in the final day of the San Diego Crew Classic. The race was won by Tennessee in 6:46.67, which edged out Duke by less than three-tenths of a second.
"Both crews had much better races than they did yesterday in terms of their focus and intensity that they brought to the process," said Wildcat coach Jenny Hale. "The racing conditions were better; about a good as you can get for San Diego."
K-State's varsity eight narrowly missed a third-place finish by a length, as Clemson at 6:51.29, Wisconsin at 6:52.22, Minnesota at 6:52.60, and the Wildcats at 6:55.73, all finished within four seconds of each other.
"It was a huge improvement (for the varsity eight)," Hale said. "It was their fastest time of the year under those kind of conditions, so in that sense I was pretty proud of them.
"I feel like for the level of competition that they stepped up into, they did a pretty good job."
In the race, the top-six finishers were separated by a narrow nine-second margin, which included an impressive rally by Clemson in the final 500 meters to jump from seventh to third with a fourth-500 split of 1:34.25.
The Wildcat second varsity eight battled back from fifth place at the halfway point of the 2,000-meter course to overtake Massachusetts and hold off the charge of Sacramento State to finish fourth in 7:08.14. K-State passed the 500-meter buoy in fourth place, but were passed by Clemson in the second 500 before making its charge to take back fourth place from the Minutewomen.
"I think they showed improvement, but they kind of sagged in the third 500 and missed an opportunity to challenge Clemson at the line," Hale said.
The fourth-place finish for the second varsity eight was identical to its finish in last year's Crew Classic.
Kansas State will race again next week on the other coast as it competes in the George Washington Invitational Crew Classic in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, April 12. The regatta will be the Wildcats' first action on the storied Potomac River.
SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
WOMEN'S JESSOP-WHITTIER CUP (1V8)
Petite Final - 1. Tennessee, 6:46.67; 2. Duke, 6:46.89; 3. Clemson, 6:51.29; 4. Wisconsin, 6:52.22; 5. Minnesota, 6:52.60; 6. KANSAS STATE, 6:55.73; 7. San Diego State, 7:21.77.
K-State Lineup - Cox: Brandy Sherwood; Stroke: Talara Wait; 7: Lori Holcomb; 6: Lara Schrock; 5: Susie Truax; 4: Alyssa Adams; 3: Courtney Franssen; 2: Carissa Land; Bow: Katy Bockelman.
WOMEN'S JV DIVISION (2V8)
Petite Final - 1.Texas, 6:49.52; 2. Oregon State, 6:50.02; 3. Clemson, 7:01.00; 4. KANSAS STATE, 7:08.14; 5. Sacramento State, 7:11.22; 6. Massachusetts, 7:11.66.
K-State Lineup - Cox: Elane Walker; Stroke: Amy Herrmann; 7: Amiee Finkbeiner; 6: Angela Murray; 5: Renee Ecklund; 4: Jessica Carmer; 3: Linzi Hauldren; 2: Jamie Holt; Bow: Katie Baxter.
--ksu--
