Despite finishing second in the first varsity eight Grand Final, the Ohio State rowing team came away with third-place team honors at the 2003 Big Ten Championships Saturday at Griggs Reservoir on the Scioto River.

The Buckeyes were unable to defend the title they won last year as they played host to the championships in its fourth year.

Finishing with 107 points, OSU came in behind Michigan and Michigan State, which each accumulated 123 points. This marked the first time in the regatta’s history that two teams were tied atop the standings. Michigan was awarded the conference title through the tiebreaker, which awards the championship to the team that placed higher in the first varsity eight competition. Iowa rounded out the top four teams with 99 points.

“We had seen some of these schools earlier in the year and knew that it would be a wide open regatta,” said OSU coach Andy Teitelbaum. “That’s just a credit to how good the Big Ten Conference is and to how hard these girls work.”

The Buckeyes went into the first varsity eight Grand Final unable to win the conference title, but they made an interesting race for Michigan and Michigan State. By placing second with a time of 6:30.4, the Buckeyes acted as spoiler to the Spartans, who came in 0.7 seconds later. This sent the championships into a tie, favoring the Wolverines.

After putting up the best time in the second varsity eight morning heats, the OSU team struggled in the Grand Final. Michigan State took an early lead and did not look back, clocking a second varsity eight conference title winning time of 6:40.6. OSU crossed the line with a time of 6:48.8, finishing behind Iowa and Michigan.

The first varsity four also wound up fourth in its Grand Final race. The Wolverines won the first varsity four conference title, ahead of Iowa and Michigan State.

The Buckeye second varsity four crew finished third with a time of 7:35.6, behind the Hawkeyes and Wisconsin. The crew entered the championships posting a 25-0 record over the past two years. Despite finishing third, their record sits at 27-2 over the last two years and 9-2 this season.

The OSU first novice eight crew didn’t qualify Grand Final, but came back strong to win its Petite Final, outlasting Michigan and Iowa by posting a season best time of 6:52.0. The Buckeye second novice eight took second in the Grand Final of its respective event, finishing just 5.8 seconds behind the Badgers.

Four Buckeyes garnered All-Big Ten rowing honors during the awards ceremony following the regatta. Seniors Karla Fiserova and Maxi Meissner were named to the 2003 First Team All-Big Ten, and senior Heather Feldmann and junior Natalie Legge were named to the second team.

The Buckeyes will return to competition on May 17-18, at the 2003 Central/South Region Championships, in Oak Ridge, Tenn., rowing for a chance at earning a berth into the NCAA championships for the fourth consecutive year.