Today, the MSU women's rowing team departs for the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships in New Jersey. The team is not taking the championship lightly.
The intensity of training is turning up for members during championship season. At the team's final practice before leaving, the girls were enthusiastically hoisting competitively designed rowboats over the tops of their heads as they began the shuffle toward the murky waters of Grand River Park — where the real fun began.
On the water, the athletes dug and scratched for every ounce of strength they had to the melody of a blaring megaphone. The emphasis on cutting final times and maximizing performance was stressed with the pull of every oar.
Head coach Matt Weise explained the training regimen as the team prepares for the national championships.
"Typically, in the fall, they're rowing upward of 12 miles a day," said Weise. "And as the season goes on, we get more specific about racing fundamentals.
"We haven't really done anything different; we've just been pushing," he said. "This time of the year they're all pushing for more speed. That's where we're at right now."
The team was anxious about a bid for this year's post-season competition, despite making the National Championship Regatta for the previous six years.
"Everyone was nervous," said senior rower Sarah Brady. "Personally, I was confident that we were good enough to be selected. It seems like this is the first year we've done a really good job of training to really peak at nationals. We've continually progressed so we'll be right up there with everybody else."
"We were worried we weren't going to get in, so it's nice to have a selection," Weise said. "Now it's just a matter of what we're going to do when we're there."
This season the Spartans met with tough competition, but finished third place in the Big Ten Championship and 17th in the nation.
"The field seems to be a lot tighter than last year, especially in the Big Ten Conference," senior coxswain Beth Smith said. "It's pretty fast and pretty close, but that's good because everyone's in the mix."
Twelve of the best teams in the nation are invited to the NCAA championship along with four additional varsity eight shells. The other invitees include Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Tennessee, Washington State, Wisconsin, four-time champion Brown, three-time titleholder Washington, this year's Big Ten Champion Ohio State and defending National Champion California.
Last year, MSU finished a disappointing 10th at nationals, held on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. The top-tiered varsity eight finished 11th, while second varsity took fifth and varsity four placed eighth.
"We were mediocre," said senior rower Kirsten Rasanen as she contemplated last year's competition. "It was hard because we came off wining a Big Ten Championship, so we thought we were fast. But we quickly dwindled down."
In a sport that not only expects the cohesive alliance of mutual effort, but structurally depends on teamwork, the women on the rowing team have to rely on each other to get the job done. At this year's NCAA nationals, the Spartans plan on using that harmony to bring home a championship.
"We haven't felt like this going into a championship race before," a hopeful Rasanen said. "We're more prepared. Usually we hit a lull around this time, but it seems like we're just getting faster and faster. We're looking forward to the race."
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships will be held May 26-28 at Finn Caspersen Rowing Center in West Windsor, N.J.
