April 6, 2012
Rowing team to take on KU in Kansas Cup Saturday
The Kansas State rowing team is set to defend the Kansas Cup when the Wildcats travel to take on their rival Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. Last season, K-State reclaimed the cup after losing for the first time in five years in 2010. Now the Wildcats are eyeing a repeat to keep the cup in Manhattan.
K-State has been steadily improving all season with each crew gaining speed on the water in recent weeks. The Wildcats hope to keep that trend going against their rivals and build toward the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta in two weeks.
The Wildcats will face the Jayhawks in the annual Kansas Cup on Wyandotte County Lake at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in a series of races for the team trophy.
“Coming off of five weeks of hard racing, which included our first varsity 8 and novice 8 beating KU at the Oklahoma Invitational earlier this season, we would like to complete the first half of our racing schedule by clinching the title and retaining the Kansas Cup,” said Patrick Sweeney, K-State head coach.
Points will be awarded to the winning team in each race with varsity events holding more weight in the team scoring. Last year, K-State won both the first varsity 8 and second varsity 8 races to win the cup, 13-6. The Jayhawks claimed the novice 8 and first varsity 4 races.
Fans are welcome to watch the competition at Wyandotte County Lake on Saturday. To get to the viewing area from Interstate 70, take I-435 North to Exit 18, Wolcott, turn right and follow 93rd Street to the beach shelter at the lake. Parking is $5. There is the possibility of the race schedule being moved up to 10 a.m. in the event of inclement weather. In the event of a schedule change or inclement weather, the Twitter handles @kstatesports and @KUAthletics will have updates.
For more information contact David Wiechmann, assistant director of athletic communications, at 785-532-7976 or dwiechmann@kstatesports.com.