April 9, 2005

Manhattan, Kan.--The Kansas rowing team lost the Kansas Cup, 9-8, to in-state rival Kansas State on Saturday, April 9, at the Tuttle Creek Lake Reservoir in Manhattan, Kan. The Jayhawks, who lost by less than a second in two of its races, lost the Kansas Cup for the first time after winning it for six consecutive years.

"We had two close races," head coach Rob Catloth said. "We really needed to win those, but lost within a second. That was an unfortunate thing. We were so close to winning 16-1, but K-State finally got us."

Despite strong winds, the 1st Varsity Eight raced to the finish line in 6:36.6, beating K-State by nine seconds and earning Kansas its only race victory of the day. The 2nd Varsity Eight came up short by only five-tenths of a second to place in second with 6:33.3. The 1st Novice Eight came in second with 6:35.6, falling short of K-State's 6:35.0. Kansas' 2nd Novice Eight came in second with a time of 8:14.5.

"The 1st Varsity Eight had control of the race all the way down," Catloth added. "We carried a boat-length lead and really opened it up within the last 500 meters to end with a nine second lead. We had a really strong race. The weather conditions were bad, and so winning by a length and a half was really big for us."

The Jayhawks will head to Camden, N.J., on Saturday, April 16-17, to compete at the Knecht Cup.

For more information about Kansas rowing, visit www.kuathletics.com.

Results

1st Varsity Eight (8 points)
1. Kansas 6:36.6
2. Kansas State 6:45.6

2nd Varsity Eight (5 points)
1. Kansas State 6:32.8
2. Kansas 6:33.3

1st Novice Eight (3 points)
1. Kansas State 6:35.0
2. Kansas 6:35.6

2nd Novice Eight (1 point)
1. Kansas State 7:25.2
2. Kansas 8:14.5