Rowers Ready to Race; Oklahoma Invite Starts Saturday
March 7, 2013
LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the fifth-consecutive year, Kansas Rowing will kick-off the spring season at the Oklahoma Invite in Oklahoma City. KU will row in three separate duals over the weekend. The event starts on Saturday and concludes on Sunday morning. The rowing team competed in three events during the fall season with their last competition taking place on November 4.
“Practice has been a little repetitive because the river froze over and we have been inside,” said sophomore Erin Brogan. “We got back on the water this week and it rejuvenated everyone and got us excited.”
KU begins on Saturday by rowing against the University of Central Oklahoma at 9:10 am. Each dual will feature races in First and Second Varsity Eight, First and Second Varsity Four and First and Second Novice Eight. KU will also send a Third Varsity Four team to the water for various races throughout the weekend.
“We haven’t had a whole lot of time on the water recently so we are relying on our fitness-based training that we have done inside,” said KU head coach Rob Catloth. “For the older rowers, we will look for them to use their experience.”
KU will finish Saturday by rowing against Kansas State at 2:30 pm. On Sunday morning, the Jayhawks will row against Oklahoma with the dual starting at 10:20 am.
“I think the spring season is more exciting because we can tap into how fast we can go,” said Brogan. “The fall races are more about endurance so the shorter races in the spring are more fun and we can really show what we can do.”
Even with the long layoff, Brogan says the team has never lost sight of their goals.
“The concentration has been there,” Brogan said. “We had a really good fall season and we have been focused and just kept in our mind that other teams are out there working hard.”
Kansas will be competing over six of the next seven weekends followed by the Big 12 Championship at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City on May 4. On May 18, KU will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn. to take part in the Conference USA Championship.
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