No. 15 Women's Crew Ready For Pac-10s
May 9, 2000
SCHEDULE: The Oregon State women's crew travels to Sacramento for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships on Sunday, May 14 at Lake Natoma.
BEAVERS IN THE RANKINGS: As of May 3, OSU was 15th in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Poll.
LAST YEAR AT PAC-10s: The varsity eight placed fourth overall in the Grand Final (places 1-6) in 1999 with a time of 6:44. All four crews rowed in their respective Grand Finals, with the second varsity eight finishing fifth (7:17.3), the novice eight fifth (7:14.5), and the varsity four second in 7:46.36. Washington won all four races.
HEAD COACH CHARLIE OWEN ON THE TEAM: "I'm really optimistic. I think we've made a lot of improvements in the last couple of weeks, and the boats are rowing pretty well. I think this will be a great opportunity to see how we can do. We've been working all year towards peaking at the Pac-10s, and right now it's looking like we're in line to be able to do that.
"I think across the board, all of the boats have shown a lot of improvement. Each boat has improved in their own way, and they've improved every race. In general, everyone is showing a lot more speed right now. This weekend is going to be the big test for us to see if we qualify for the NCAAs."
THE COURSE: The Lake Natoma course is a standard 2,000 meters, with seven bouyed lanes.
OWEN ON THE COURSE: "The course is probably the nicest racecourse like it on the West Coast. They've got seven bouyed lanes on a nice lake, and they've made a lot of improvements to the park, so it's a pretty nice place to have a regatta. The NCAA has held championships for four years now, and two of the years they have been at this racecourse."
QUALIFYING FOR THE NCAAs: A selection committee will determine what 15 varsity eights go to the NCAA Championships, but the West Coast region (to which OSU belongs) is only guaranteed one team. If Oregon State earns a team selection, they will take a first varsity, second varsity, and varsity four to the Championships. If OSU gets an individual selection, only the first varsity will go.
THE BOATS: OSU will take a varsity eight, second varsity eight, and varsity four to Pac-10s.
LINEUPS FOR PAC-10s: (B- Bow, S- Stroke, C- Coxswain)
First Varsity Eight: B- Amanda Westfall, 2- Annie Godwin, 3- Jenny Johnson, 4- Jaclyn Melcher, 5- Sarah Wachs, 6- Abby Roos, 7- Cassie Bouska, S- Jamie Stephenson, C- Jennelle Johnson.
Second Varsity Eight: B- Karen Hopfer, 2- Melissa Flint, 3- Joy Jordan, 4- Carissa Andrews, 5-Megan Oest, 6- Kristin Lovro, 7- Allison Egan, S- Erika Kirsch, C- Laurie Williams.
Novice Eight: B- Donnae Dunsmore, 2- Kim Texeira, 3- Karen DeVries, 4- Lauren Sommers, 5- Lyndsey Wrightson, 6- Angie Smith, 7- Kim Hughes, S- Erin Raney, C- Kelly Dage.
Varsity Four: B- Katie Beachwood, 2- Christian Greene, 3- Leah Schauermann, 4- Erica Greer, C- Lynn Simmons
LAST ACTION: It's been two weeks since the Beavers rowed in the Stanford Invitational Apr. 29-30, where OSU won eight of nine races. The varsity eight racked up two wins over San Diego State and Texas, with times of 6:42.9 and 6:33.6, respectively. The second varsity took two races as well with times of 6:53.3 and 6:51.7, while the novice eight won twice, the varsity four once, and the novice four once.
BEST TIMES OF THE SPRING: VARSITY EIGHT - 6:33.6 (vs. Texas at Stanford Invitational, Redwood Shores course, 4/30), SECOND VARSITY EIGHT - 6:46.32 (at Washington State, Snake River course, 3/25), VARSITY FOUR `A' - 7:36.5 (vs. Kansas at Stanford Invitational, Redwood Shores course, 4/29) VARSITY FOUR `B' - (vs. Stanford, Lake Vancouver course, 4/15), NOVICE EIGHT - 6:48.2 (vs. Stanford, Lake Vancouver course, 4/15), SECOND NOVICE EIGHT - 7:19.3 (vs. Washington, Lake Vancouver course, 4/22), FRESHMAN FOUR `A' - 7:59.49 (at California, Redwood Shores course, 4/8), FRESHMAN FOUR `B' - 8:02.74 (at California, Redwood Shores course, 4/8), NOVICE FOUR - 6:41.6 (vs. Cal at Stanford Invitational, Redwood Shores course, 4/30) Note: Lowest times are not necessarily representative of best performances, as course conditions are a considerable factor in how the times turn out.
BOUSKA, GODWIN NOMINATED: Annie Godwin, both seniors, have been nominated for the 2000 GTE Academic All-America team. Bouska, from Myrtle Point, Ore., sports a 3.88 GPA in Biology, and is a two-year member of OSU's 11th-ranked varsity eight boat.
Bouska was honored as a National Scholar Athlete by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and was an All-Academic selection in 1999. Bouska is attending OSU on Presidential and Georgia-Pacific Scholarships. She also volunteers with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
Godwin, from Halfway, Ore., is a third-year member of the 12th-ranked varsity eight boat. She was a 1999 USRowing honor roll selection, and a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar Athlete. Godwin volunteers her time to many organizations in the Corvallis community.
COACHING STAFF: Charlie Owen, in his ninth year at Oregon State University, first arrived at OSU in the fall of 1986 as a student-athlete. He has been involved with the program ever since.
Owen rowed in the varsity lightweight men's eight and heavyweight men's eight, before an injury cut his career short. He did however enjoy a successful sculling career with an eventual position on the 1991 Pan American Team.
Owen's coaching career began in the fall of 1991 as the novice women's mentor. He coached the novice team for two years, with his teams placing second on the West Coast each season and all crews earning medals. At the same time he coached a team at the Olympic Sports Festival.
Owen assumed the reigns of head women's coach in 1993, and the team has improved every year. His 1997 varsity team has been the highlight of his coaching tenure, placing second at the Pac-10 Championships and earning an entry into the inaugural NCAA Championships. The women's crew placed seventh overall at the NCAAs. The 1998 team also had a banner year, with a third-place showing at the conference meet.
Owen started rowing at Salisbury School in 1984 and while there competed at the West German Junior National Championships. Owen also competed in England at the Henley Royal Regatta.
Owen is a 1992 graduate of Oregon State with a bachelor's degree in housing studies.
Jane LaRiviere is in her sixth season as the Women's Freshman and Novice Coach at Oregon State University.
LaRiviere has guided the program to some of its most successful seasons in school history, and has made it one of the most competitive on the West Coast. One of the highlights of LaRiviere's coaching career was guiding the 1999 Novice team to a second-place finish in the Women's Varsity four at the Pacific-10 Championships.
As a student at the University of Calgary, LaRiviere rowed for the Calgary Rowing Club. In 1985 her team won the Intermediate Four With at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. LaRiviere began coaching rowing in 1989 while attending the University of Oregon. She went on to coach in Canada at the University of Western Ontario and the London Rowing Club. While in London, Ontario, she assisted with the Women's National Team development camps. During the summer of 1999 LaRiviere volunteered at the Canadian National Team's Pre-World Championship camp.
LaRiviere is a U.S. Rowing Level II certified coach and a Level III certified rowing coach in Canada.
LaRiviere received her bachelor's degree in 1986, her master's degree in 1990, and is presently completing her Ph.D in biomechanics at Oregon State University.
