UCO Rowers Ready For Spring Season

2/4/2014 10:38:00 AM

EDMOND (Feb. 4) -- The Central Oklahoma women's rowing program has released its spring racing schedule, which will feature early-season action against defending NCAA Division II national champions Nova Southeastern as well as the second iteration of the Central Sprints in Oklahoma City.

"We have had a cold winter, which means more time on the ergs and I know everyone will be happy to return to the water and start racing," said assistant coach Amy Jantzen. "I think we have another great racing season set up with a lot of opportunities to show our speed and good race experience for the younger athletes."

The Bronchos will begin the spring season on familiar water, taking on cross-river rival Oklahoma City University in the StrOklahoma Regatta on Saturday, March 8. During the 2013 regatta, UCO won each race it entered.

The following weekend the Bronchos will once again take on the Stars from OCU, with crews from the Colorado and Wichita State joining in for the OCU Opening Day Regatta. Central Oklahoma will be fielding novice entries with those not traveling to Orlando for spring break training.

Most of the Broncho squad will once again travel to Orlando, Fla. for a week of warm rowing during spring break from March 15-23. Over the course of the week the team will participate in an informal scrimmage against host Central Florida before taking on Nova Southeastern on Lake Pickett.

Two weeks later the Bronchos will return to the San Diego Crew Classic to defend their victory in the San Diego Zoo & Safari Park Cup during the 2013 event. During last year's successful weekend, the Varsity 8+ collected their win with victories over UC-Santa Barbara, Humboldt State and UC-San Diego. The Varsity 4+ finished second in the regatta, falling to UC-San Diego in the final for their only loss to Division II competition of the spring.

The remainder of the team not attending the San Diego Crew Classic will take on the Shockers of Wichita State and OCU on the Oklahoma River on April 5, largely in novice events.

The full Broncho squad will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn. April 17-18 for the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships. UCO will take on competition from across the country, comprising both Division I and Division II institutions.

During the 2013 SIRA championships, the Broncho Varsity 8+ finished fifth overall, just three seconds behind eventual national champion Nova Southeastern. The Varsity 4+ defeated all other Division II competition, falling only to Kansas State and finishing second overall.

A new addition to the 2014 schedule is a duel with Southern Methodist, which will take place April 26, in Dallas.

Central Oklahoma will once again host the Central Sprints duels on May 17, this year welcoming Seattle Pacific and Western Washington to the Oklahoma River. During last year's event, the Bronchos swept events against Seattle Pacific. Western Washington represents a perennial power, winning seven consecutive Division II national titles from 2006-12.

The NCAA Division II Championships are set for May 30-June 1 and will once again take place in Indianapolis, Ind. The Bronchos will look to make their third consecutive appearance to the championships in only their sixth year of existence. During the 2013 championships Central Oklahoma finished fifth in the country.

"I'm really looking forward to the spring season starting up," said coach Jantzen. "We have a younger team this year with the exception of a couple of upperclassmen returning from our NCAA squad. They have done a great job of leading the team and showing the novices what hard work is all about."

"We are exciting about this upcoming season," said head coach Andrew Derrick. "We still have a ways to go in terms of fitness to achieve the speed we want, but we will have great opportunities to see our progress through the season against some great competition regionally and on both coasts."

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