K-State Sweeps Creighton in First Race of the Season

OMAHA, Neb. – The Kansas State women's rowing team came out strong at the Creighton Duel, as the Wildcats swept Creighton in each of its four races on Saturday (March 27) afternoon. The duel marked the first competition in over a year for the Wildcats.

"It was good to get the season underway," said head coach Pat Sweeney. "All of our athletes handled the whole experience well. The team is still developing but they showed up today."

Featuring a lineup of four boats, the Wildcats hit their stride and gained the upper hand early in the 1v4+ and 2v4+ races, which then translated over into two more wins for the latter portion of the regatta, with victories from the 2v8+ and 1v8+.

"We were impressed by how our athletes held their technique together," said Sweeney. "Conditions deteriorated throughout the day. A strong crosswind continued to challenge us as we raced. For being a young team, who is still relatively new to racing, they kept it together and handled it well."

The rout over the Bluejays began with a dominate outing in the 2v4+ race. Consisting of coxswain Morgan Thompson and rowers Lindsey DeVreugd, Alyssa Buettner, Alyssa Pemberton and Lisa Zuiderveen, the Wildcats found open water and soared past the other crews to clinch the first victory of the duel, coming in at 8:05.7.

That momentum continued into the 1v4+ race, where coxswain Kaitlyn Henke and rowers Logan Frost, Ellie Hahn, Elizabeth Sloan, and Kate Odgers continued to put distance between themselves and their Creighton counterparts. As the group pushed their lead, the race became more and more in K-State's favor, propelling the Wildcats to another first-place finish on the water with a time of 7:54.1.

Rugged conditions arose during the 2v8+ and 1v8+ races, but that did not hinder K-State from completing the sweep over Creighton on Saturday afternoon.

After a brief reset on the stake dock due to some technical issues from the Creighton 2v8+ boat, K-State blew by its opponent and immediately put plenty of distance between themselves and the Bluejays, scoring the third win of the day with a time of 7:20.8. The Wildcats' 2v8+ boat was occupied by coxswain Kelsey Ladlie and rowers Natasha Johnson, Kaylee Kleinschmidt, Patricia Hokanson, Megan Kelly, Ashley Cass, Jayden Wert, Lauren Walker and Jessica Schenk.

K-State wrapped up the Creighton Duel with another quick outing from the 1v8+ boat, as coxswain Lauren Plum and rowers Elizabeth Mummert, Marisa Rodriguez, Maya Morrow, Taylor Hartman, Madison Jenson, Megan Michaelis, Idallis Shaffer and Jaydyn Greisen maneuvered through the race and recorded the final win with a solid pace of 7:00.4, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than the 1v8+ boat for Creighton (7:27.4).

"We know there is still room for improvement, but the team can definitely build off of today," Sweeney stated. "There is a lot of speed we can still find, but this is a good baseline to work from."

K-State will now prepare for a weekend road trip to Sarasota, Florida for the Sunshine State Invitational on April 2-3.

Saturday's Race Schedule (March 27)

2v4+ - 8:05.7
Cox: Morgan Thompson, 4. Lindsey DeVreugd, 3. Alyssa Buettner, 2. Alyssa Pemberton, 1. Lisa Zuiderveen

1v4+ – 7:54.1
Cox: Kaitlyn Henke, 4. Logan Frost, 3. Ellie Hahn, 2. Elizabeth Sloan, 1. Kate Odgers.

2v8+ - 7:20.8
Cox: Kelsey Ladlie, 8. Natasha Johnson, 7. Kaylee Kleinschmidt, 6. Patricia Hokanson, 5. Megan Kelly, 4. Ashley Cass, 3. Jayden Wert, 2. Lauren Walker, 1. Jessica Schenk.

1v8+ – 7:00.4
Cox: Lauren Plum 8. Elizabeth Mummert, 7. Marisa Rodriguez, 6. Maya Morrow, 5. Taylor Hartman, 4. Madison Jenson, 3. Megan Michaelis, 2. Idallis Shaffer, 1. Jaydyn Greisen

K-State Race Results (Creighton Duel)

2v4+
1. K-State, 8:05.7
2. Creighton, 8:47.3
3. Creighton, 9:08.9

1v4+
1. K-State, 7:54.1
2. Creighton, 8:24.8

2v8+
1. K-State, 7:20.8
2. Creighton, 7:43.0

1v8+
1. K-State, 7:00.4
2. Creighton, 7:27.4

For the latest on K-State Rowing, follow @kstatesports and @KStateROW on Twitter or on the team's Facebook page.

Kansas State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Buettner

Ashley Cass

Lindsey DeVreugd

Logan Frost

Ellie Hahn

Taylor Hartman

Kaitlyn Henke

Patricia Hokanson

Natasha Johnson

Megan Kelly

Kelsey Ladlie

Megan Michaelis

Maya Morrow

Elizabeth Mummert

Kate Odgers

Alyssa Pemberton

Lauren Plum

Marisa Rodriguez

Jessica Schenk

Idallis Shaffer

Elizabeth Sloan

Morgan Thompson

Lauren Walker

Jayden Wert

Lisa Zuiderveen