Women Lightweights Enter Spring Campaign Full of Optimism
Feb. 25, 2005
By Buzz Congram and Irene Jenkins CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The end of the fall rowing season left the varsity lightweight women with a sense of progress toward developing a sound rowing style and increasing their fitness level, but the Engineers will endure a challenging spring with a small squad-size. As MIT begins the second semester, it boasts only six varsity women, which has forced the Cardinal and Gray to modify its goals, and aim to produce the fastest varsity four that they can field this spring. The strength of the team rests with a building novice program, and head coach Buzz Congram has made it a priority to field the fastest novice eight possible this season. The experienced frosh women who rowed with the varsity this fall, will also be given an opportunity to make that novice crew. There is great optimism surrounding this unit as MIT looks to build-up the program from the freshman level. The novices have worked extremely hard over IAP to get their erg scores down and to improve their technique. Under the enthusiastic leadership of head coach, Irene Jenkins and novice captain, Lisa Nakano, and the inspiring work ethic of four year rower, Kate Madden, the novices will offer some exciting racing this spring. The varsity women, led by junior captain, Veena Ramaswamy, are toiling daily on the ergs, in the tanks, and in the weight room in anticipation of a more competitive race schedule this spring. Two seniors, Yong-Hwa Lee, and cross country/track convert, Veronica Andrews, join juniors, Kat Hung, Cathy Yao, and Antonella Alunni, in a quest to make that varsity four glide as fast as it can. Jo Duh, an outstanding experienced freshman coxswain, will handle the tiller. The Engineers have created more racing opportunities for the women this year by adding dual races with the
