Solid Start For UCO Rowers

3/13/2012 8:15:00 AM

Final Results

Central Oklahoma opened the spring rowing season at the Oklahoma Invitational last weekend on the Oklahoma River and had a solid showing in three days of racing.

EARLY LEAD: A strong headwind could not slow down UCO as the Bronchos scored all 27 possible points on the first day of the event by defeating Oklahoma City's Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 and Creighton's Novice 8. It also marked the first racing opportunity for more than half the UCO squad.

“The team did a great job of handling their nerves and racing well for our first outing,” head coach Andrew Derrick said. “We certainly made some mistakes, but that's what early season racing is for.”

At the close of racing Friday, the Bronchos led their bracket with 27 points, while Southern Methodist had 24, Creighton three and OCU none.

CONTINUING MOMENTUM: Saturday morning opened with the Varsity 4+ defeating Creighton by just under two seconds. The UCO Novice 8+ (racing in the 2v8+ category) fought hard against Creighton, but fell by 10 seconds. The Varsity 8+ completed the series with a win of 7:50.5-8:04.7.

With two of three races completed in each bracket, UCO trailed leader SMU by six points (51-45). Creighton was third with 21 points and OCU fourth with zero

FINISHING OUT THE BRACKET: The stage was set for a showdown between UCO and SMU to determine who would win the bracket and advance to face the first-place team from the other bracket.

After a lineup adjustment, the Varsity 4+ got the Bronchos off on the right foot with a commanding win of over a minute (9:27.9-10:43.5) over SMU.

The Mustangs won Novice 8+ to take a 60-48 lead into the final event – the Varsity 8+ race – and the winner of the event would also be the winner of the bracket.

UCO's boat got off to a rough start and was never able to recover, losing by a less than seven seconds (7:45.6-7:52.2).

'We bobbled the first five and our young varsity just could not recover and find their rhythm,” Derrick said. “It was disappointing to lose but even more so knowing we did not put down our best race. SMU certainly deserves credit for getting it done when it counted.”

UCO still finished in their bracket with 48 points compared to SMU (75), Creighton (24) and OCU (15).

INTER-BRACKET COMPETITION: The Bronchos faced the second-place team of the other bracket on Sunday's final day of competition and were outmatched by intrastate rival Tulsa, losing all three events.

COACH DERRICK SAID: “It's always tough to close out a racing weekend with tough losses, but we knew it was likely to happen based on the set-up of the event. The last races don't take away from some of the good things we accomplished this weekend though. We raced hard, gained some invaluable experience and corrected some early season mistakes. Most importantly, we are going into our Division II Duel races with more experience than we ever have before.”

FIRST YEAR LEADERSHIP: Coxswain's Alexandra Capitol and Amy Van Buskirk commanded their crews this weekend in their first sprint races. Both Capitol and Van Buskirk are novice, in their first year of rowing, and have quickly taken to their tasks of delegating, steering, and motivating their crews. Van Buskirk coxed the Varsity 8+ all weekend and Capitol the Varsity 4+.

BRONCHO YOUTH: The Bronchos are off to a solid start despite having a very young squad. The Varsity 8+ has three novices (first-year rowers) in it, the Varsity 4+ is made up of 60 percent novice and the 2v8+ only has two seasoned athletes in it.

“I am very proud of how much progress our young team has made,” Derrick said. “I am even more excited that we still have a long way to go to meet our potential, and how far we get this year is 100 percent up to our team.”

LOOK AHEAD: The Bronchos will continue training in Oklahoma until Friday when they depart for a nine-day training trip in Cocoa Beach, Fla. While in Florida UCO will also compete in the Division II Regional Duels March 23rd-24.

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