Sept. 28, 2001

MANHATTAN, Kan. - K-State Women's Rowing will begin its 2001 season at the Head of the Des Moines regatta in Des Moines, Iowa, this Saturday, Sept. 29.

Kansas State has increased its varisty roster from 28 in 2000 to 36 as they head into the 2001 campaign. The Wildcats will be led by 18 returning varsity oarswomen.

"The main strength that this team has is its larger numbers and increased experience from the core of the team, our mid-section," head coach Jenny Hale said. "Both of these factors, a greater number of rowers vying for the same number of seats and the fact that those rowers are putting pressure on last year's varsity to step up the competitiveness, will naturally increase the boat speed potential."

The leadership of the returners and the strength of seven new recruits will be a major factor in how K-State performs this weekend at the Head of the Des Moines.

"We have recently split the recruits into two groups, one working primarily with the varsity and the other group heading over to lead the novice squad," Hale said. "From our recruiting class Talara Wait (Porter Corners, N.Y.) is showing some great effort and progress on the water. Also, a couple of our seniors, Josie McClellan (Topeka, Kan.) and Anne Hagerman (Larned, Kan.), have been having good scores and practices."

Kansas State saw several tough competitors at the Head of the Des Moines last season where it finished third in open pairs, first in the novice 4+, third in open doubles and second in open eight. The level of competition will once again bring challenges for the Wildcats at the 2001 Iowa regatta.

"Our major competition at this regatta will come from Iowa, KU and Drake," Hale said. "Iowa finished tenth in the country last year as a team, so they are very good and always provide a good benchmark to test ourselves against. The real challenge with some of the events early in the season is that the oarswomen will only have rowed with a certain lineup a few times."

The Head of the Des Moines is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at Prospect Park in Des Moines, Iowa.