University of Illinois Opens Winter Indoor Season with Two Golds at St. Louis Indoor

The top rowers from the University of Illinois competed in the St. Louis Indoor Rowing Championships. The 2000m long race is rowed on rowing machines in flights of 8 athletes while measuring raw power. Illiniois entered 9 athletes spanning categories against rivals WashU, St. Louis Univ., and Univ. of Iowa.The day went extremely well for the UofI squad. All athletes rowed very well controlled pieces, sticking to their race plans, and had great performances across the board. Julia Briscoe finished 2nd in the Collegiate Nov. Lwt. Women; Meridith Kisting finished 3rd in the Collegiate Nov. Women; Dani Saubert finished 1st in the Collegiate Women (New Team Record); Illinois took 5 of the top 7 Collegiate Nov. Men times (1st - Nick Van Antwerp, 2nd - Ray Urban, 4th - Steve Smith, 6th - Ben Feicht, 7th - Cameron Skelding); and Chris Marr finished 4th in the Collegiate Men.The athletes will all compete next weekend at the Illini Indoor Rowing Championships as they continue to train for the Chicago Indoor Rowing Championships at the end of the month. For full race results and photos, check the results page.