March 5, 2002

Manhattan, Kan. - The "second season" is upon the Kansas State rowing team as the Wildcats will open the Spring 2002 schedule at home this Sunday morning against Creighton.

The Wildcats and Blue Jays will begin at 8 a.m. at the Tuttle Creek reservoir with the first of four heats. Both varsity and novice boats will compete in fours and eights on Sunday morning.

The early-season matchup with Creighton will be a chance for the Wildcats to get outside and to be able to race against some unfamiliar faces, according to sixth-year head coach Jenny Hale.

"This race gives us a chance to get out of the blocks and race the course side-by-side with somebody who is not your second varsity," said Hale. "It will be nice to go against somebody who doesn't have purple shirts on."

With only one senior in the first varsity eight, Hale said the 2002 season is one in which some younger rowers will be counted on heavily.

"We are trying to achieve some balance in the program with some younger people," said Hale. "The questions lie in whether the younger people who are making up the core of the team can be patient and minimize mistakes in the race. We're racing a harder schedule than we did the year before."

Despite the relative youth, Hale said there is still progress being made by the K-State program.

"We're racing tighter and tighter. When we get in with tough competition, we're not losing by open water," said Hale. "Given how many seniors we lost in 2000 and the fact that all our boats were stroked by freshmen last year, we did a good job for as young as we were. I think the same is true now."

The lone senior in the lineup for the first varsity eight is Josie McClellan, a two-year letterwinner from Topeka. Glenna Yokum and Jill Anderson are seniors who are expected to be in the second varsity eight on Sunday.

In addition to McClellan, sophomore Lara Schrock of Manhattan will be among four Wildcats in the first varsity eight who finished 2001 in the same boat. Junior Carissa Land and junior Katy Bockelman will join McClellan in the 1V8 as the spring season opens.

Junior Amy Herrmann, sophomore Courtney Franssen and junior Alyssa Adams are expected to round out the lineup for the first varsity eight. Land is also a two-year letterwinner in the program.

One position to be determined as the spring progresses is the coxswain's spot in the first varsity eight, according to Hale. Sophomore Elane Walker was the cox in the first novice eight last year, while junior Brandy Sherwood was in the second varsity eight. For Sunday's season-opener, Walker will be the coxswain in the first varsity eight, a position Hale likened to being the "quarterback and the in-the-boat coach."

Five underclassmen will be in the lineup for the second varsity eight on Sunday.

Following the matchup against Creighton, the Wildcats will head to Austin, Texas, for a week of training over Spring Break. Highlights on the 2002 schedule include the Kansas Cup on April 27, the only other home event of the spring, the San Diego Crew Classic on April 6 and 7, and a trip to Boston for a regatta hosted by Northeastern University with Navy, Columbia and Massachusetts on April 20 and 21.

The Central Division Championships will be held May 18 and 19 at Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the NCAA Championships slated for May 30 through June 2 in Indianapolis.

--ksu--