Lake Natoma Invite to Provide Challenge for KU Rowers
April 18, 2013
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas rowing team will get an up close view at some of the top teams in collegiate rowing this weekend at the Lake Natoma Invite in Gold River, Calif. Six of the top 20 teams in the country will be competing alongside the Jayhawks. The regatta will match teams in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four.
In the morning session on Saturday, KU will race against No. 1 Southern California and No. 12 Notre Dame. Kansas was receiving votes in the latest poll. On Saturday afternoon, KU will take on No. 9 Stanford and No. 17 Washington State. The match up on Sunday will be determined by Saturday’s results.
“Our goal is to build a top-20 team so we need to get out and race against top 20 teams,” said KU head coach Rob Catloth. “It will be good for our rowers to see that kind of speed and see where we need to go.”
Notre Dame previously defeated KU on March 16 at the Louisville Invite. Each of KU’s Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight squads have won six out of their last seven races since losing to the Irish. This will mark the first competition of the season that features only NCAA Championship events.
“We have to accept the challenge,” Catloth said. “We can measure ourselves by how close we are to these teams. We will see where we are on the national scene. These teams are setting the national standard and we need to give ourselves an honest measure against teams of this caliber.”
Also participating are No. 2 California, No. 15 Wisconsin, Tulsa and Sacramento State.
SATURDAY’S RACE SCHEDULE (Central Time)
10:10 AM Varsity Four vs. Notre Dame and USC
10:40 AM Second Varsity Eight vs. Notre Dame and USC
11:10 AM Varsity Eight vs. Notre Dame and USC
6:10 PM Varsity Four vs. Stanford and Washington State
6:40 PM Second Varsity Eight vs. Stanford and Washington State
7:10 PM Varsity Eight vs. Stanford and Washington State
FOLLOW THE HAWKS
Live results will be posted on Twitter by following ku_rowing and natomainvite. Full coverage of the event will be posted on KUAthletics.com following the competition.
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
###
