The Tulsa women's rowing team will compete in four regattas this Fall.

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Tulsa Women's Rowing 2004 Fall Slate Features Four Regattas

Golden Hurricane's Fall Season Begins Sept. 24 in Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 24, 2004

Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa women's rowing team will participate in four regattas during the 2004 fall campaign, including meets at Des Moines, Iowa, Oklahoma City, Okla., Boston, Mass., and Wichita, Kan.

The Golden Hurricane's fall schedule features the Head of the Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa on Sept. 25, the Centennial Regatta in Oklahoma City on Oct. 3, the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta, Oct. 23-24, and TU concludes the fall campaign at the Wichita Frostbite Regatta on Oct. 31.

"Our entire fall season is centered around improving the physical shape of our student-athletes and working on becoming more technically proficient," third-year Head Coach Kevin Harris said. "This is the time of the year when we put in a lot of miles and train a large amount of aerobic fitness. This is also the period when we lay the base for what we want to do during the spring, which is try to improve our speed."

TU begins the fall season at the 21st Annual Head of the Des Moines, which consists of three-mile time trials. A total of 23 freshmen will see their first action for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa will compete in 12 different races.

"We're going to race against some pretty good programs this fall. Our first race at the Head of the Des Moines will be against some Big Ten and Big 12 competition in the likes of Iowa, which has been ranked in the top-20 for the last six years, and Kansas State, which Tulsa has raced well against in the past. We're looking forward to seeing how we compete against some of these schools," Harris said.

Tulsa makes the short trip down the Turner Turnpike on Oct. 3 to compete in the Centennial Regatta in Oklahoma City. The event, which is hosted by Oklahoma City University, has attracted 11 rowing programs, including Colorado, Harvard, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, Texas, Tulsa and Wichita State. The races will take place on the Oklahoma River in downtown Oklahoma City. The Golden Hurricane is scheduled to compete in seven events.

"This event has turned into a bigger regatta than we originally thought it would be. I think the growth has shown that rowing in Oklahoma is on the rise. Two schools, Virginia and Texas, are top-20 programs, so right from the start we get to row against two very good teams. What we do against these schools will give me an indication of direction for this team. We're looking forward to racing in our home state," Harris said.

In late October, Tulsa makes the 1,644-mile trip to Boston, Mass., to compete in the 40th Head of the Charles Regatta, which takes place on the Charles River. The Head of the Charles is the world's largest two-day rowing event and dates back to 1965. More than 7,000 athletes from around the world compete in 24 different race events. The Regatta grew to a two-day event in 1997 and now attracts up to 300,000 spectators during the October weekend. The Hurricane will compete in two events at the Head of the Charles- the Club-4 and the Youth-4. Last year in the Club-4, Tulsa turned in a ninth-place finish out of 45 boats.

"The Head of the Charles is a race that every rower in the world wants to go to. This is the world championship of fall rowing. I feel very fortunate to be able to take The University of Tulsa to this event because it's a completely different level in the number and type of competitors. A majority of college teams and clubs will attend the Head of the Charles." Harris said.

Tulsa takes the short jaunt to Wichita, Kan., on Oct. 31 to complete the fall rowing season at the Wichita Frostbite Regatta. The event is 1.7 miles and includes Creighton, Colorado Club Team, Tulsa and Wichita State, and other club teams in Kansas.

"The Wichita Frostbite Regatta is a local regatta for us. I let the rowers pick their boats for this event. It also gives the novices a chance at one more race during the fall. It's kind of a live intra-squad competition for our rowers. It's shorter than the first three regattas at 1.7 miles, which gears us more toward the distance we'll be racing in the spring," Harris said.