Rowing holds own early in season
Bearcats finish fourth in Knecht Cup despite inclement weather
David Harding
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Sports
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Ridge, Tenn.
In New Jersey, UC raced in a regatta known as the Knecht Cup, a race featuring a few dozen schools hosted by Villanova University.
The men's four crew made finals in its event but was overwhelmed in the later race, finishing sixth overall with a time of 7:13.2. The University of Connecticut Huskies won the event with a time of 6:54.7.
"We just didn't execute when we needed to," UC head coach Brent Figg said about the mediocre finish. "The good thing is we have a couple weeks to improve and go right back at it."
One setback this year for the team has been access to the water during their
5:15 a.m. practices. With fluctuating water levels and some mornings with inclement conditions, the Bearcats have been forced to practice indoors instead.
"The more time on the water, the better the results for obvious reasons," Figg said. "But that's the Ohio [River]. Not much we can do about that."
Next on UC's schedule is the Indianapolis Invitational April 24 followed by a race in Athens, Ohio and then the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. If things go well for the Bearcats they'll look to send a boat to two different National Championships, the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship in Oklahoma City on May 24 and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) in Camden, N.J. on June 6.
In 2006 the Bearcats sent a boat to the IRA Championship and finished 11th in the country.
Fourth-year engineering student Jared Kentner is a member of the current UC four-person boat and thinks having a weekend off could be beneficial.
"We need to get more water time, otherwise it'll be a mess," Kenter said. "There are a lot of good teams at these races so it's kind of a must to have decent river conditions."
Also scheduled to be in the Bearcats' next race in Indianapolis are Grand Valley State University, No. 20-ranked University of Michigan and Purdue University. The trip is the team's closest scheduled race to
Cincinnati.
"It's good to have a race like this so close to home," Figg said. "It's great for local fans of the sport and [team] family members to be able to actually watch a race."
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