Monday, August 21, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 13
Fieldhouse stairs, diversity part of crew club
Ex-member of club leads as crew coach
Kansas crew club members (from left to right) Tommy Ryan, Tim Anderson, Zach Hall and Lyle Dohle carry their boat during the Head of the Des Moines Regatta in Des Moines, Iowa, last fall. The team will compete again at Des Moines on Saturday, Sept. 30. Contributed photo
By Michael Sudhalter sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
Roy Williams' squad is not the only group working out at Allen Fieldhouse.
Recently, members of the Kansas men's and women's club crew teams have been including 45 minutes of stair climbing in the fieldhouse as part of their conditioning program.
The teams begin formal practice Thursday, with two-hour practices every day to focus on technique, strength and stamina.
Coach Kevin O'Rourke, a former team member and May 2000 graduate, also has planned weight-room training for his men's and women's squads.
The men's and women's varsity teams and the novice team, for freshmen and beginners, have fifteen rowers.
The crew club, which will begin its season at the Head of the Des Moines Regatta in Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 30, has five eight-member boats and three four-member boats.
The fall competitions are different from the regattas that take place during the spring season.
"The fall season is comprised of head races, where the teams race against a clock for 5,000 meters, and the team with the fastest time wins," O'Rourke said. "Spring season has boats in seven different lanes for a 2,000 meter race."
O'Rourke, who joined the crew team as a junior, is optimistic about this year's team.
"We are looking pretty good this year," he said. "We are young, but we have a lot of people returning."
O'Rourke would like to see the
team compete with Colorado and Kansas State, which the Jayhawks have not done in the past.
Tommy Ryan, men's team captain and Leawood sophomore, previously competed as a member of the Kansas City Rowing Club. Ryan gained interest in the sport through his father, who was a member of the Irish National Rowing team.
Ryan has found an appreciation for the Kansas team's diversity.
"Our team has all different types of people with various majors," he said. "We have people who have played sports in the past and those who haven't."
Both O'Rourke and Ryan are looking forward to one of the sea-
The regatta, which features some Ivy League squads, is one of the varsity's most competitive meets.
"Being competitive at the Head of the Regatta is one of our biggest goals," O'Rourke said. "We need to be in our best shape for that."
He would also like to see better attendance and support at local meets. The Jayhawks will be competing at the American Royal on Sunday, Oct. 15 in Kansas City, Mo. The novice squad will take part in the Wichita Frostbite on Sunday, Nov. 5. In addition to
the noted meets, the varsity squad will be traveling to Georgia, Illinois and Louisiana for regattas.
Laura Platner, Tulsa, Okla., sophomore, will enter her first year as a member of the women's varsity team after spending last year with the novice squad. She said she would like to see her teammates have more cohesiveness and commitment for the upcoming season, specifically in organizing boats, which consist of four- or eight-person teams.
"I hope a lot of people stick with it because the more people that we have, the more likely we are to put more boats together," Platner said.
CREW CLUB SCHEDULE
- Edited by John Audlehelm
Varsitv
Saturday, Sept. 30
Head of the Des Moines Regatta,
Des Moines, Iowa
Saturday, Oct. 7
Quad Cities Regatta, Iowa
Head of the Rock Regatta, Rockford,
Illinois.
Sunday, Oct. 15
Saturday. Oct. 21
American Royal, Kansas City, Missouri
Sunday, Oct. 29
Saturday, Oct. 21 Head of the Charles Regatta Cambridge, Massachusetts
Head of the Iowa Regatta, Iowa City
Saturday, Nov. 4
Saturday, Nov. 11
Head of the Chattahoochee Regatta Georgia
11th Marathon, Natchitoches,
Louisiana
Sunday, Oct. 15
Novice
American Royal, Kansas City, Missouri
Sunday, Oct. 29
Head of the Iowa Regatta, Iowa City
Sunday, Nov. 5
Wichita Frostbite, Wichita
11th Marathon, Natchitoches Louisiana
Kansas crew club members (from left to right) Lyle Dohle, Zach Hall, Tim Anderson and Tommy Ryan row during the Head of the Des Moines Regatta in Des Moines, Iowa, last fall. The team will begin formal practices Thursday in preparation for this fall's season. Contributed photo
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