Rowing team prepares for fall competition with 30 more members

A new wave of athletes on the women's rowing team has begun to take over. There are more than 50 new members to the team this year as head coach Patrick Sweeney is attempting to make his team more competitive on the water.

Last year, the Wildcats finished off their season in sixth place in the Conference-USA championships. The Wildcats compete in the C-USA for rowing, as the C-USA brings in teams from their own conference, the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference to form one rowing conference.

Looking forward to this year, there is a core group of roughly 40 women on the team that are returning to compete as juniors or seniors on the team. This has coach Sweeney optimistic about his team's success this year. The team's first competition is on Sept. 24 at the Head of Des Moines competition in Iowa.

"The senior group, the older ones, I'm really pleased with where they are technically at this time," Sweeney said. "They've come back in a good position. They went away over the summer but didn't forget everything, they've come back strong and have gotten right into it and come back in great shape. So three weeks in, and we're not suffering and that's good."

This season started with a record turnout for the tryout period of the year, as 100 rowers, both new and returning, came out to start. Out of the 100 athletes who started, 60 of them were new, which included 20 signed and 40 walk-ons. So far, only 10 have dropped off, either because they were cut or they left the program. That leaves Sweeney with approximately 90 rowers for his team, compared to just over 60 last year.

"I think we manage the numbers well enough," Sweeney said. "The amount of equipment we got, we can handle it. If we get this turnout every year, that'd be great. That's the aim of what we're doing."

One of the unique challenges Sweeney and his staff face year in and year out is training new rowers that have never rowed competitively prior to joining the Wildcats.

"One of the things that has been really good this year is that the system we have adopted helps recognize the girls in high school and (junior colleges) in the state of Kansas, so we know what we're getting," Sweeney said. "The ones we are interested in are athletic, and they're interested in coming here, so we now we have a better quality of athletes."

The work ethic of the entire team and dedication to the program from the new athletes has caught Sweeney's eyes early, as the drop-off rate of girls leaving the program has fallen significantly compared to years past.

"We're really hoping that this trend will continue," Sweeney said. "We have all these kids that have walked on who are sticking it out. In years past, you have kids that are trying out to just try anything out. So usually you have about half the walk-ons leave about three weeks in. This year, we're not seeing that, though."

The fall season for the rowing team is much like a preseason. The races are generally meant to test the girls early and see what kind of talent and commitment they have. They also get an idea as to what events are like, and get a feel for what the competitive spring season will be like following the winter break.

"The pressure is not really there in the fall," Sweeney said. "It gives the girls a wake-up call. You can sort of say whether you are on or off pace for the springtime. It also gives the athletes a kick in the butt if they need to step up. You can see if the new girls can handle it. Then with the older girls you can see if they're slacking off."

One change to the schedule from previous seasons is that there will no longer be a Sunflower Showdown in the fall. The annual event, which was held at Tuttle Creek, has been canceled multiple times in the five years it has been scheduled because of weather.

"The event rushes us and broke up our training regime," Sweeney said. "We wouldn't have done this, though, if us and the KU coaches weren't on board. We all said that we need to move on from it. We need the rivalry, though, and it will still be there, because we will face them three to four times in the spring."

The Wildcats only have two events scheduled for the fall. Then they will resume training and then return to competition on March 16, 2012, at the Longhorn Invitational in Austin.