INSIDE ROWING BY CHARLIE HEALY @BadgerRowing
SATURDAY SCHEDULE Men
vs. Michigan
Openweight Women vs. Indiana, Ohio State
Lightweight Women at Stanford
8 a.m. Lake Mendota 8 a.m.
Bloomington, Ind. 11 a.m.
Stanford, Calif.
Lake Mendota hosts Michigan » The Badger men open the spring season at home against Michigan on Saturday on Lake Mendota. Racing will begin at 8 a.m. at Por- ter Boathouse and will follow the lake's south shore past the UW Memorial Union.
All Badger crews begin
s the Badgers prepare to open the spring season Saturday, all three Wiscon- sin rowing teams find them- selves ranked in the latest USRowing coaches polls. The No. 2 lightweight women's varsity eight is coming off a third-place finish at the IRA national championships, where the
A 52 » VARSITY APRIL 5, 2012
season ranked in top 12 Men and lightweight women both in top 5
Badgers have won five na- tional titles in eight years. The men's varsity eight is ranked No. 5 after a fourth- place finish at the 2011 IRA National Championships. After a program-best ninth-place team finish at the 2011 NCAA champion- ships, the openweight wom- en are ranked 12th as a team.
Big Ten's strongest showing » The No. 12 openweight women be- gin the spring against Indiana and Ohio State in Bloomington, Ind. The Big Ten is as strong as ever, as six of the conference's seven teams are ranked in the top 20. No. 3 Michigan leads the league, while No. 20 Indiana is ranked for the first time in team history.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 in California » The No. 2 lightweight women close their spring break training trip against No. 1 Stanford on Saturday with eight races against the Cardi- nal. The 1-2 matchup sees the past two national champions squaring off. Wisconsin won the national ti- tle in 2008 and 2009, while Stan- ford has claimed the crown the past two seasons.
