68 // VARSITY April 3, 2014
SCHEDULE
COMING UP: OPENWEIGHT
Sat.-Sun. San Deigo Crew Classic
April 12 Big Ten Double Dual
COMING UP: LIGHTWEIGHT
April 13 Knecht Cup
April 19 Boston Round Robin
A challenge out West
Early-season obstacles cause quick changes
I
n a perfect world, the 15th-
ranked Wisconsin women's
openweight rowing team
would be coming off a week-
end of racing at the Pac-12
Challenge in California that
included open water victories
over No. 3 Virginia and No. 6
USC, among others.
Instead, the Badgers are
scrambling to get more racing
on the schedule after skipping
the trip to California because of
an illness that spread through-
out the team over spring break
and beyond.
The scheduling part has
rebounded, with the open-
weights heading to southern,
instead of northern, California
to take part in the San Diego
Crew Classic this week. The
event has been around since
1973 and the Badgers are fa-
miliar competitors, having
raced in it 24 times over its
first 40 years.
UW's best result came with a
victory in the varsity eight race
in 1986. In recent years, the
2009 team's third-place finish
is the best over the last 11 vis-
its to the San Diego Crew Clas-
sic since 1996. The Badgers
will send their varsity eight to
race for the Jessop-Whittier
Cup, while the second varsity
eight will go for the Jackie Ann
Stitt Hungness Trophy. Sixth-
ranked USC happens to own
the last three Jessop-Whittier
Cups and is the defending Stitt
Trophy champs.
Wisconsin did have a suc-
cessful spring debut with varsity eight,
second varsity eight, varsity four and
second varsity four victories over Ten-
nessee, West Virginia, Kansas and Ala-
bama at the Cardinal Invite before the
team's bug invaded.
STANFORD RACE WILL HAVE TO WAIT
● The showdown was set between four-
time defending Intercollegiate Rowing
Association national champion and
preseason No. 1 Stanford and second-
ranked Wisconsin at last weekend's
Pac-12 Challenge, but the same illness
that struck the openweights found its
way to the lightweight program and it
too missed out on a great early-season
test.
INSIDE
WOMEN'S ROWING
BY PAUL CAPOBIANCO @BADGERROWING
