Wednesday, August 26, 2009
As the rowing team prepares for a new season, it’s haunted by a disappointing loss in the Big 12 Championship May 2.
It was a perfect racing day.
Rowers race Texas and Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship at Wyandotte County Lake May 2. Kansas took third place while Texas took first and K-State took second. Oklahoma placed fourth.
The water was still and the wind was calm at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan., for the inaugural Big 12 rowing championship. Oklahoma’s entrance made the championship official, as they joined Kansas, Kansas State and Texas.
“Emotions were really high,” junior Elise Langtry said. “We were making history.”
Kansas was salivating in second place, trailing Texas by a mere three points heading into the first varsity eight race.
The gun fire bellowed and the regatta was off. Kansas commenced with a booming start, sniffing the scent of first place with each punishing stroke of the oar.
“We were gaining speed on Texas,” senior Stacy Rachow said. “We were moving up on ‘em.”
Then, about one-fourth of the way through the race, a picturesque day evolved into a mental storm.
The race was halted as Texas claimed to have been obstructed by a wake from a referee motor boat that was moving along the course.
“You would never usually stop a race then,” coach Rob Catloth said.
Rowers also thought Texas’ complaint was strange.
“It seemed very weird that it happened in the middle of the race,” Langtry said. “Especially when they were losing.”
Kansas had to turn away from the face of victory and restart a race that the rowers felt should have already been theirs. The girls’ mindsets were now shifted from speed and success to the bitterness of what could have been.
“You don’t get to pull ‘em aside,” Catloth said. “There are no timeouts or subs. They’re out on the race course.”
Kansas State finished first in the restart, moving it to second overall in the championship. Texas finished second, a solid place that helped it hold on as the inaugural champion. As for Kansas, it finished third in the restart, sinking to a third-place finish at the championship.
Kansas was rancorous and mentally unprepared for another race.
“They just weren’t the same crew when they restarted,” Catloth said.
Langtry said the loss created a feeling of “complete broken heartedness.”
“To watch it go to Texas was very hard,” Langtry said. “Mentally, it’s very unsettling.”
Rowing uses nature as its arena, frequenting sticks and logs, rain and wind and wakes and currents as regular interferences.
“We have wind to deal with everyday,” Rachow said. “If there’s rough waters, that is an advantage for us. But whether rain is pouring or wind is blowing, you just gotta do it.”
Catloth attributed the loss to sport’s many variable factors.
“Everybody has the same conditions,” Catloth said. “You have to overcome adversity as an athlete. You have to be prepared to deal with whatever. Some things you just don’t foresee ever happening.”
— —Edited by Sara Kelly
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Comments
Championship loss haunts rowing team
The only reason Texas was in third place off the first start was BECAUSE of the wake. It was never used as an excuse. In fact, the Texas crew did not even alert officials of the wake, but rather an official following the race made the decision independently. Texas was just as confused as to why the race was halted 500 meters into it as any other crew was out there. Please get your facts straight and unbiased before attempting to write a dramatic article on a loss that I'm almost positive none of the Kansas girls wish to recall if it was really so painful for them.
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