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Rowing

Bronchos Meet Defending Champs In Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Central Oklahoma women's rowing team ended their week of spring break training in Orlando by taking on defending national champion Nova Southeastern in races in the Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+, and Novice 4+ events.
 
Each 2,000-meter race was run twice and at its conclusion the Sharks of Nova Southeastern had gotten the best of the Bronchos in each event.
 
The morning started with the Varsity 8+ battling down the course, eventually falling behind the Sharks in the second 1,000 meters.  Nova finished with a time of 7:10.9 while the Bronchos finished at 7:21.9.  UCO was represented by Amy VanBuskirk (coxswain), Hannah Anderson, Karen Jay-Hoke, Kirsten Clark, Kalli Schwartz, Chelsea Robinette, Madison Martens, Tracey Lisowe and Morgan Henry.
 
The Varsity 4+ featured a very young lineup from the Bronchos, who dropped their first faceoff against the Sharks with a time of 9:13.8.  The Central lineup included Jenna Laine Meraz (coxswain), Sam Godfrey, Brooke MacArthur, Molly Hibbard, and Lora-Lynn Loomis.
 
Rounding out the first flight of racing were the Novice 4s, which finished with the Bronchos taking second- and third-place behind the entry from Nova Southeastern.
 
The first entry for the Bronchos featured Keely Slocumb (coxswain), Kate Singleton, Aubrey Brown, Aimee Witten, and Mackenzie Johnson, while second unit included Sarah Goodman (coxswain), Morgan Story, Rebecca Dubois, Jessica Green, and Michelle Lees.
 
After a short break the crews took back to the water to compete in another round of racing.  In a morning characterized by strong head winds and choppy water, the Bronchos dropped each race during the second session as well.  
 
"To be 11 seconds back of the defending national champion, considering the amount of obstacles we have had this winter, I am quite happy with our V8 performance from today," said head coach Andrew Derrick.  "We are normally able to row all winter and this year gave us new respect for those northern teams for whom being frozen in is the norm.

 "While our V8 did a great job of being prepared, I think it was just too little water time and too much to overcome for the rest of the team, being all novice.  With too few strokes under their belt, they struggled a lot with the rough conditions and didn't show anything close to their real speed.  That being said, we are still very optimistic for the V4 and Novice 4s, as there is a lot of talent and heart there.  It will just be a matter of how steep their learning curve can be and how fast they can get up to speed."
 
The Bronchos prepare next for a trip west to the San Diego Crew Classic on April 5-6 where the Varsity 8+ will defend their victory from 2013.  Those not competing in San Diego will go against Oklahoma City University on the morning of April 5.
 
Complete results from the racing against Nova Southeastern:

Varsity Eight Flight One
 Nova Southeastern              7:10.9
Central Oklahoma                 7:21.9
 
Varsity Four Flight One
Nova Southeastern              8:21.4
Central Oklahoma                9:13.8
 
Novice Four Flight One         
Nova Southeastern              8:38.0
Central Oklahoma A             9:06.3
Central Oklahoma B             9:11.8
 

                  
 

           
   
 

            
           
          
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