HAWK TALK

April 2021

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59 Five hundred twenty five days. Five hundred twenty five long days without a rowing competition for the University of Iowa. As every sports team saw this past year, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancelation of the 2020 spring season and altered the training season over the last 12 months, meaning that all but 13 of the 70 rowers are racing competitively for one of the first times in their Hawkeye uniforms. e Hawkeyes overtook the obstacles thrown at them and found ways to continue traditions that would have been canceled if it weren't for some adjustments. Instead of Iowa's normal preseason training trip that is taken in Florida each year, the Hawkeyes booked a new home for the winter months — Kinnick Stadium, home of the football Hawkeyes. e Hawkeyes took to the water March 27 at the Ohio State Duals to compete in their first non- scrimmage race since October 19, 2019. e Hawkeyes scrimmaged at Southern Methodist on March 4 and 7. e first outing in more than a year was highlighted by three wins in the II Varsity Four, I Novice Eight and II Novice Eight boats against Indiana and Michigan State. "It was great to get back to race course in earnest," Iowa head coach Andrew Carter said. "With four other Big Ten teams, this was a great opportunity for our team to get a feel for the standard within the conference. I saw a great deal of improvement over our first event against Southern Methodist, and it's clear our crews are gaining speed on a daily basis." Five additional boats finished in close second- place races, including the II Novice Eight race falling short by two seconds and II Varsity Four finished three seconds behind Michigan in the morning session. Aer an intermission, the Hawkeyes recorded a half-second second- place finish by the I Varsity Eight boat behind Indiana and the II Varsity Eight boat and I Varsity Four were a second and a half behind the Hoosiers in their respective races. "I expect the other teams in the Big Ten to be doing the same in the coming weeks now that we're all back on the water, so we still have the challenge of trying to outpace the progress of an incredibly talented conference of rivals." Hawkeyes have kicked off the 2021 season with promising start against Big Ten competition with three regular season competitions before Iowa kicks off the postseason at the Big Ten Championship on May 16. e Hawkeyes have two competitions in April, including the Big Ten Invitational hosted in Cincinnati on April 17-18 and Iowa's own regatta on Lake McBride with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kansas on April 24. APRIL SCHEDULE April 17-18 Big Ten Invitational (Cincinnati) April 24 Iowa Invitational (Lake McBride)

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