HAWK TALK

June 2014

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47 Aer week one of competition, the Hawkeyes grabbed the attention of the rowing community. e UI generated a buzz and began receiving votes in the CRCA/USRow- ing Coaches Poll in early April. e team continued to receive votes for the remainder of the 2014 season. UI rowing ended its regular season on a high note at Ten- nessee. e Hawkeyes swept the Lady Vols, winning all five events of the regatta. e 1V8+ and 1V4+ boats won by four seconds, the 2V8+ boat won by two seconds, the 2V4+ crew won by 35 seconds and the 1N8+ won by 24.5 seconds to complete the sweep. Individual Hawkeye rowers also caught the eyes of the rowing community. Sophomores Zoe Ribar and Lauren Subler earned first and second team All-Big Ten hon- ors, respectively, following the Big Ten Championship, while junior Gabrielle Watson was Iowa's Sportsmanship Award recipient. Freshman Morgan Grastorf, who came to Iowa in the fall with no rowing experience, found much success in her first year. She competed in each spring regatta as part of the 1V8+ crew and was invited to attend the 2014 US- Rowing Women's Pre-Elite Camp at Princeton in June. e camp grooms up-and-coming rowers for the nation- al teams and is an honor in the rowing realm, especially for an athlete in their first year. "Coming off some racing realizations, generating some speed, and having some success with it is the last thing they're going to remember," Carter said. "ey're going to remember what it's like to go that fast and there's a little bit of a taste in their mouth of what is possible. I'm hop- ing that is going to stay with them for the next couple of months when they're training in the summer." Heading in the Right Direction By JIL PRICE T he University of Iowa rowing team concluded its 2014 season at the Big Ten Rowing Cham- pionships on May 18 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. While their seventh-place team result did not meet their expectations, the Hawkeyes have made great strides under their third head coach in as many seasons. "One of the bright spots was the team's willingness to try new things and strive for a gear that they haven't been in before," first-year UI head coach Andrew Carter said. "at reflects part of their training and part of their technical adaptation. ey just needed to be able to sustain a bit higher pace through the bulk of the race. We've seen all the parts in practice so we'll continue to work toward tying it all together in racing." Carter has seen the crews develop from top to bottom throughout the year and feels that the Hawkeyes have laid a strong foundation to build a program. For their performance in the season-opener at Clem- son, Iowa's 2V4+ crew was tabbed Big Ten Boat of the Week. Junior Rachel Crosley, freshman Kasia Gniatc- zyk, freshman Bec Clayton, sophomore Skylar McSor- ley, and sophomore coxswain Rachel Chambers placed first in the race, besting runner-up Kansas by almost 12 seconds. It marked UI rowing's first weekly honor since April 15, 2008. Iowa also defeated then No. 20 Duke in 2-of-3 NCAA events and narrowly missed wins over Clemson, which finished second in the ACC Championships in 2013.

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