Varsity Eight Takes First at Head of Oklahoma

Oct. 1, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY - The University of Oklahoma Rowing team began its fall season at the Head of the Oklahoma Saturday. The Sooners' varsity eight boat defeated Stanford, Iowa and Tulsa to claim first in the OG&E 500-meter grand final night sprints. Stanford placed second last year at the NCAA finals. The second varsity eight placed fifth in the grand final night sprints.

"It was a great day of racing," said Oklahoma Head Coach Leeanne Crain. "Our team is continuing to develop every day and it's exciting to see their efforts paying off on the race course."

In the 500-meter collegiate eight sprint, the Sooners' top boat led by coxswain Kiley Poppino and rowers Rebecca Staff, Nikki Furmanek, Nicole Bladow, Brooke Brooke Sheppard, Kellie O'Reilly, Meghan Farrell, Sarah Kelle and Ashley LaFollette finished first with a time of 1 minute, 30.440 seconds.

The "B" boat, led by coxswain Carly Winchester and rowers Olivia Staff, Katie Klassen, Rebecca Winchester, Brooke Holleman, Ivy Brown, Kristin Clift, Morgan Whinery and Heather House finished fifth with a time of 1:37.456.

"Well it was a suicide pace the whole way. And we thought they had gotten us at the end," said Sheppard. "It was so close. It's a great day for our team to be close to teams like Stanford."

The top boat in the collegiate four, led by coxswain Patricia Vanscovy and rowers Maureen Lewis, Kristen Anthis, Kelsey O'Grady and Samantha Fahed finished second behind Stanford in the 500-meter OG&E grand final with a time of 1:46.370.

The "B" boat, led by coxswain Poppino and rowers Abby Seremek, Elizabeth Biggs, Elizabeth Middleton and Maggie Schaefer placed first in the OG&E petite final with a time of 1:48:911. The "C" boat, led by coxswain Jenny Winters, Marilyn Kozolowski, Heather Morris, Amber Coyne and Markayla Adam finished 18th in the 4000-meter race with a time of 16:21.369.

The novice eight top boat, led by coxswain Abigal Moyer and rowers Ashley Keeter, Katherine Mason, Conner Jones, Hayley Byrd, Megan Quinn, Jacy Glover, Anna Anthony and Jennifer O'Grady finished fifth with a time of 18 minutes, 21.432 seconds. The "B" boat led by coxswain Rebecca Beu and rowers Andrea Doughery, Zoe Meeker, Stephanie Rehm, Rebecca Seewald, Micah Thompson, Taylor Stevensons, Hannah Morgan and McKenzie Brunsdon placed sixth with a time of 19 minutes, 20.119 seconds.

The Sooners will hit the water again tomorrow beginning with the open pairs at 9 a.m. and the open fours at 10:55 a.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Varsity Eight Takes First at Head of Oklahoma

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