Rowing

Coach Wendy Davis compared the Gophers rowing team to the Minnesota Twins.

Right now, that’s not a good thing.

Minnesota competed against Wisconsin, and due partly to illnesses and injuries, the Gophers lost five of six races on Lake Mendota in Madison and fell 45-24 based on the Big Ten scoring system. In addition, the Badgers won the inaugural Burnin’ Blade Award in their first home meet since 2002 by winning the first varsity eight by 4.4 seconds.

When the Gophers rowing team saw Wisconsin three weeks ago, the Badgers were the much faster team.

But Minnesota has finally had consecutive days — even weeks — of practicing on open water, and the Gophers are hoping to narrow that gap when the two face off Sunday.

“They were so much faster than us three weeks ago, but they’ve gotten more water time and we’ve gotten more water time,” head coach Wendy Davis said. “We want to go out there and be as fast as we can possibly be on Sunday and not allow nerves or choking or any of that stuff.

Minnesota’s second varsity eight rowing boat had an impressive weekend, fighting off tough weather and strong competition to win both its heats at the Charles River Challenge in Boston.

The Gophers’ second-best boat held off Radcliffe by half a second Saturday, with Dartmouth and Syracuse taking third and fourth. On Sunday, the same group again won the B heat, finishing 10 seconds ahead of second-place Louisville.

The Minnesota rowing team won’t even be in Boston until Thursday night, but the Gophers already feel somewhat disrespected by their opponents in this weekend’s Charles River Challenge.

Minnesota will square off against Harvard, Syracuse and Dartmouth on Saturday while Northeastern, Boston University and Louisville compete against each other in another heat. When Ohio State makes it to Bean Town on Sunday, the top team from each Saturday group will face the Buckeyes, leaving the worst teams to row against the Gophers.

A weekend trip to East Lansing, Mich. for the Minnesota rowing team was filled with ups and downs.

Unfortunately for the Gophers, though, most of the ups came Friday when the team practiced fully on water for the first time since March 19 and not during the double dual against No. 8 Michigan State and 14th-ranked Michigan on Saturday.

“It was about what I expected,” coach Wendy Davis said Sunday, a day after her team won just one of 12 races. “Those are all really good schools. A lot of the races were not close.”

The Gophers rowing team hasn’t competed in three weeks, but as the women look ahead to this weekend’s meet against Michigan and Michigan State, they’re excited just to practice.

Lakes in the area have yet to thaw, and this week Minnesota could use only a 300-meter section of the Mississippi River for training.

“Think hamsters in a wheel,” coach Wendy Davis said. “That’s us.”