The Virginia women's rowing team will host a scrimmage against the Canadian National Team tomorrow. The day-long event will take place at the Cavaliers' home course, Rivanna Reservoir. Virginia swept all five races in its scrimmage last weekend against Michigan State, which was the first official match for the Cavaliers since Nov. 2006.
"This past weekend, the team was excellent," freshman Jenny Cromwell said. "We found we have a lot of room to improve, as we know we can only get faster."
If the Cavalier squads of the past are any indication, the sky is the limit. In 2005, the Cavaliers finished second to California at the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championship.
"What I saw in the Michigan State scrimmage is that we have really good depth," Virginia coach Kevin Sauer said.
This depth is aided by scholarships provided through Title IX. To balance the scholarship load, schools such as Virginia, Tennessee and Ohio State are awarding women's rowing scholarships and the teams are succeeding. This weekend will be a chance for the Cavaliers to see how they match up against one of the world's best teams.
"Their women [were] world champions last year. They have a long history of doing very well at the international level," Sauer said.
For instance, Canadian rower Lesley Thompson was included in the top 10 among female rowers active in 2006 as reported by worldrowing.com. At last year's World Rowing Championships, the Canadian women's coxless pairs won the gold medal.
"They are going to be faster than anyone we've seen at the collegiate level," Sauer said. "The only saving grace may be that they haven't had a whole lot of water time either," he added.
While the Cavaliers spent last week training in Augusta, Ga. before returning to prepare in Charlottesville, the Canadian team trained in Ontario prior to making the trip down to Virginia. Both teams train year-round, working from longer three to six kilometer heats to the normal race lengths.
"I saw [the Canadian team] on the water a couple of days ago and they look pretty sharp already," Sauer said.
This weekend's race provides an exciting and unique opportunity for the Cavaliers, beyond an early tune-up race against a team as fast as any they will see all year.
"The scrimmage this weekend is going to be a chance to shake things up," Sauer said. "The kids have aspirations to go to the next level, and it's good to see there are people doing that."
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