The rowing teams will open up their spring season this weekend at the Cayuga Inlet. On the men’s side, both the heavyweight and lightweight boats are set to face off against Marist and Michigan. The women will also be racing tomorrow against George Washington.
The men’s lightweight and heavyweight boats are both ranked sixth in the nation, according to the recently published Collegiate Coaches Preseason Polls by USRowing. Marist did not make it into the top 20 teams, although Michigan received at 17th-place ranking.
Despite these stats, heavyweight head coach Dan Allen noted that the crew was “expecting a contest out of Michigan.”
Last year, the Wolverines’ freshman team picked up a silver medal. Allen realizes that most of those rowers have probably moved up to varsity, adding speed to Michigan’s program.
Likewise, the Red hasn’t failed to prepare for its race versus Marist. According to Allen, “we prepare for everyone the exact same way.”
Due to the uncooperative weather, the Red has just recently moved from the ergs to rowing on the Inlet.
“We are usually on the water by February,” Allen said, “but we were only able to break the ice a little over a week ago.”
Allen is thankful for the warm weather that has allowed practice in the boats.
“It’s really helped a lot,” he said.
The lineups for this weekend have been set, but Allen indicated that it really depends on how the rowers perform each day. In each race, there is no room for mistakes.
Allen makes sure his team knows that, “if the guys are performing, they’re in, but if they are off the mark, they won’t be in the boats.”
This weekend will help all the boats get a good look at their capabilities for upcoming races.
“We’ll be coming out this weekend ready to set the tone for the rest of the season,” Allen concluded.
Archived article by Adrienne Dunbar