Jayhawks in Sixth at Oklahoma Invite
March 11, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY – A solid showing from the novice squad highlighted the first two days at the Oklahoma Invite for the Kansas rowing team as the Jayhawks sit in sixth with 21 points.
Despite no points being awarded for the novice races, it should be a good indication that the freshmen and sophomores have a bright future on the water. Eight universities were represented in Oklahoma City over the weekend in bracket formation. Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Tulsa were in Bracket 1, while Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Creighton and SMU represented Bracket 2.
On Friday, the first day of races, the second varsity eight recorded the only win of the day for KU as the Jayhawks edged out Oklahoma with a time of 7:38.36. The win gave KU nine points for the only scoring of the day. The second varsity eight boat consisted of Kathryn Schoonover, Emily Starr, Paige Stephens, Jessica Miller, Amanda Lewis, Katie Hayes, Angie Flores, Eileen Gallagher and coxswain Olivia Catloth.
In the Saturday morning session, the novice eight boats picked up two wins against Creighton and Oklahoma. The second novice eight (Sarah Jane Able, Libby Phillips, Kristen Byrd, Natalie Boerio, Kellyn Angell, Leah Roy, Kristin Engbroten, Hannah Silverthorne and coxswain Caitlin Flanagan) breezed by Creighton with a finishing time of 8:25.98, which was nearly 12 seconds ahead of CU. The novice eight boat then beat Oklahoma by 22 full seconds with a time of 8:02.59. Laura Benz, Andrea Joyce, Brooke Thuston, Claudijah Lever, Kaylee Sextro, Jenni Hartzler, Nicole Otey, Allie Griffin and coxswain Sarah Lasini all combined in the easy win for the novice eight.
During the final session on Saturday the second novice eight again edged out Oklahoma with a time of 7:53.66. This time the second novice eight was made up of Engbroten, Roy, Lever, Silverthorne, Jade Lambkins, Lexa Fowlkes, Meghan Cahill, Julia Alvey and coxswain Nicole Balmaceda.
In the final set of races, the Jayhawks were able to pick up two wins against in-state rival Kansas State. The varsity four, with Emma Umbarger, Ashleigh Allam, Cheyenne Verdoorn, Ashlyn Midyett and coxswain Caty Clements, rowed to an easy win with a time of 8:26.89 to earn three points. The second varsity eight recorded the final win of the weekend as KU beat KSU with a time of 7:41.95. The Jayhawks received nine points from the second varsity eight win to give them 12 for the day and 21 for the weekend.
Oklahoma advanced to take on SMU in the finals as the two schools advanced from its respective brackets.
Kansas returns to the water next weekend with the Jayhawks travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the Louisville Invite March 17-18.
Bracket 1
1. Oklahoma -72
2. Tulsa – 54
3. Kansas – 21
4. Kansas State – 15
Bracket 2
1. SMU – 75
2. UCO – 48
3. Creighton – 24
4. OCU – 15
