Wildcats Win Three Races, Fall to Kansas at the Sunflower Showdown

SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A hard-fought effort by the Kansas State women’s rowing saw three impressive victories by the Second Varsity Eight (2V8), the Third Varsity Eight (3V8) and the Second Varsity Four (2V4), but a photo-finish effort by Kansas’ First Varsity Eight in the final race of the day was enough to give the Jayhawks a 12-10 victory on Friday in the Sunflower Showdown.

“It is frustrating because we know we could have won it,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said after seeing his team win three of five races. “That being said, the girls rowed really well today. During the first 1,500 meters, all of the boats performed extremely well. However, none of the boats were able to sprint well at the end and that is what hurt us. That was the difference today.”

The Wildcats got off to a blistering start in Lawrence, led by the 2V4’s first-place finish after it crossed the finish line in a time of 7:00.53. Led by coxswain Rachel Moore and rowers Maggie Burg, Kelsey Dighans, Hunter Anne Postier and Nicole Catloth, the 2V4 defeated the Jayhawks by almost nine seconds to earn two points.

K-State’s 3V8, consisting of coxswain Allie Kleinsmith and rowers Emily Stec, Madison Rebel, Taylor DeWeese, Molly Ross, Kaitlyn Bohl, Nikole Cain, Samantha Samskey and Abigail Dressler, recorded the team’s second victory of the day. Crossing the finish line in 6:23.22, the boat defeated Kansas’ boats by just under 10 second and extended the team’s lead to 4-0 after two races.

Kansas pulled within one point of K-State in the third race of the day, coming from behind in the final sprint of the First Varsity Eight race to top the Wildcats’ boat (6:53.41) with a time of 6:50.90.

The Wildcats extended their lead once again, earning six points in the 2V8 race after the boat won with a time of 6:07.14. Made up of coxswain Emily Johnson and rowers Kelsey Eagleman, Kayla Brock, Natasha Johnson, Selena Wapelhorst, Rachel Haskell, Lauren Costello, Logan Frost, Mikaela Bennett, the boat topped Kansas (6:17.36) by over 10 seconds with a time of 6:07.14 to extend the lead to 10-4.

Holding the lead heading into the final race, the team’s First Varsity Eight (1V8) raced neck-and-neck with the Kansas boat heading down the final stretch. However, the Jayhawks’ boat (6:00.01) was able to inch ahead as it crossed the finish line to top K-State’s 1V8 (6:00.88) by 87-hundreths of a second to preserve the win.

K-State now shifts its focus to the Big 12 Championship regatta, held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on May 13-14. With two weeks to prepare for the conference battle, Sweeney knows what the team needs to work on to be successful in the season finale.

“The girls are looking good technically and everything is there,” Sweeney noted about his team. “We just need to be able to push through the final sprint in. The fitness is there. The strength is there. We just do not have that change of speed to get us across the finish line at the end.”

More information on the conference championship, including a complete schedule and championship history, can be found on the Big 12 Conference’s rowing homepage by clicking here.

For the latest on K-State women’s rowing, follow @kstatesports and @KStateROW on Twitter using the hashtag #KStateROW, on the team’s Facebook page or on Snapchat at @kstaterow.

Sunflower Showdown

Burcham Park

Lawrence, Kan.

Final Scores

1. Kansas – 12

2. K-State – 10

1V8+ Results (9 pts.)

1. Kansas – 6:00.01

2. K-State – 6:00.88

2V8+ Results (6 pts.)

1. K-State – 6:07.14

2. Kansas – 6:17.36

3V8+ Results (2 pts.)

1. K-State – 6:23.22

2. Kansas ‘A’ – 6:33.10

3. Kansas ‘B’ – 7:01.69

1V4+ Results (3 pts.)

1. Kansas – 6:50.90

2. K-State – 6:53.41

2V4+ Results (2 pts.)

1. K-State – 7:00.53

2. Kansas ‘B’ – 7:09.09

3. Kansas ‘A’ – 7:23.23

Boatings:

1v8:

Coxswain: Courtney Faucett, Stroke: Kaylin Edwards, 7: Elaina Grantham, 6: Kennedy Felice, 5: Noelle Dykmann, 4: Mattie Warner, 3: Courtney Winkley, 2: Grace Reilly, Bow: Ariana Thompson

2v8:

Coxswain: Emily Johnson, Stroke: Kelsey Eagleman, 7: Kayla Brock, 6: Natasha Johnson, 5: Selena Wapelhorst, 4: Rachel Haskell, 3: Lauren Costello, 2: Logan Frost, Bow: Mikaela Bennett

3v8:

Coxswain: Allie Kleinsmith, Stroke: Emily Stec, 7: Madison Rebel, 6: Taylor DeWeese, 5: Molly Ross, 4: Kaitlyn Bohl, 3: Nikole Cain, 2: Samantha Samskey, Bow: Abigail Dressler

1v4:

Coxswain: Aimee Farrell, Stroke: Mary Rose Eakes, 3: Jordan Lund, 2: Courtney Cooke, Bow: Laura Clement

2v4:

Coxswain: Rachel Moore, Stroke: Maggie Burg, 3: Kelsey Dighans, 2: Hunter Anne Postier, Bow: Nicole Catloth

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats Win Three Races, Fall to Kansas at the Sunflower Showdown

SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN

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