Rowing earns first-place wins at Head of the Brazos

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Earn First Place Wins At Head Of The Brazos

Oct. 9, 2016

WACO, Texas (SMU)ΓÇö The SMU rowing team posted a commanding first place finish in the Open 2x and Novice 8+ on Saturday at the 2016 Head of the Brazos regatta in Waco, Texas.

Senior Savannah Moody and junior Lauren Vanek took first in the Open 2x (19:23.02) for the Mustangs, Greater Houston was the closest competitor, crossing the finish line 1:16.00 later.

SMU had six boats compete in the Open 1x this weekend. The Ponies grabbed fourth through ninth place finishes with Hannah Dart (23:05.56), Ashley Wagner (23:33.30), Paige Papesch (24:29.92), Moyra Tran (24:30.07), Caroline Snyder (25:11.78) and Danielle Tatro (26:40.78).

In Open 4+ action, the Mustangs finished in seventh (20:28.21), eighth (20:36.14), and 12th (21:36.14) place.

SMU had one boat in the Open 8+, coxswained by senior Molly O'Connell, finishing in fifth place with a time of 17:40.23.

Two Mustang boats competed in the Novice 8+. The first finishing with a time of 20:45.40, earning the Ponies another first place finish. The second finished at 22:46.72, earning fifth place.

"I'm pleased with the improvements our team made from last week," head coach Doug Wright said. "Our goal is to get a little better every day so that between competitions we see marked increases in power, endurance and technical capacity. We saw that in Saturday's races. I'm really fired up about our team's energy and drive to win."

Next, the Mustangs head to Oklahoma to take on the University of Tulsa Nov. 4-5.

For more information on SMU Rowing, follow @SMURowing on twitter or like SMU Rowing on Facebook.

[smupony94]

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/colleg ... 1516292640

[deucetz]

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/colleg ... uit-school

A group of seven former and current members of the SMU women's rowing team announced on Thursday that they will file a Title IX lawsuit against SMU.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/smumustangs/2018/01/18/current-former-members-smu-womens-rowing-team-file-title-ix-lawsuit-school?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1516292640

Oh dear

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Will be interesting to hear what they have to say tomorrow.

With SMU it's always something...

[mustangxc]

We really need to cut the rowing team and find a different sport to sponsor.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

We really need to cut the rowing team and find a different sport to sponsor.

Good luck finding another low cost sport with 20 scholarships

[PhantomPhi]

Could be the death knell for many ancillary Men and Women's sports.

[smusportspage]

Bowling???

[PonyTime]

A lot more info in this story from Park Cities People...

You can expect a Rowing ticket hike and re-seating soon to cover the million dollar payouts.

http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/schools/former-student-rowers-file-title-ix-negligence-lawsuit-against-smu/

Former Student Rowers File Title IX, Negligence Lawsuit Against SMU

by Bianca Montes ┬╖ January 19, 2018

Eight female athletes have filed a negligence and Title IX lawsuit against Southern Methodist University.

The lawsuit claims that SMU rowers suffered catastrophic hip injuries as result of negligence on the part of SMU athletic department staff and that SMU discriminated against female athletes in the way it allocated its funding and resources in violation of Title IX. The complaint was filed this morning in Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Just two weeks removed from hip surgery, resting on a pair of crutches, senior Kelly McGowan claimed the university created a culture of inequality among female athletes, specifically those injured.

Lindsay Heyman and Meghan Klein

"My injuries were never diagnosed properly by SMU, and I received inadequate medical treatment," she said at a press conference late Friday morning. "SMU knew that they had a problem and failed to address it. Even worse, they tried to cover it up and silence the female rowers through intimidation and shaming, some of which our own teammates were part of."

Alex Zalkin, attorney for the plaintiffs, called the case a "tragic example of SMU ignoring its responsibility to ensure that its student-athletes are provided competent coaching, training, and medical care.

ΓÇ£Adding insult to injury, SMU systematically discriminated against female athletes, and female rowers in particular, by providing them with unequal funding and second-class resources.ΓÇ¥

The civil complaint alleges that since its inception, the rowing program was treated as an afterthought, and maintained mostly for the purpose of complying with Title IX. Consequently, SMU rowers were provided inferior resources, including substandard medical treatment and limited access to qualified training personnel.

The lawsuit claims the athletes were subjected to inappropriate rowing and weightlifting techniques and overtraining. As SMU rowers began complaining about hip injuries, their complaints fell on deaf ears. They were told to simply tough it out and were provided with ineffective treatment by inexperienced staff. A ΓÇ£deal with itΓÇ¥ culture permeated the SMU rowing program in which injured rowers were discouraged from taking time off to rest and rehabilitate in favor of pushing through their painful and dangerous injuries.

Former rower Lindsay Heyman said when she was injured, unable to row, walk, sit or stand for extended periods of time, that a coach, instead

Lindsey Heyman

of seeking medical help, asked her if her mattress was too firm ΓÇô something she said displayed the department's "desire to hold everyone but themselves accountable for the countless woman they've injured."

Heyman said one of the main reasons she chose to attend SMU was because recruiters ensured her that the rowing team treated its members like family, had values, and that all members operated on those values.

"My first-hand experience with SMU's lack of value and principle came in my sophomore year when the medical trainers neglected to inform me that I had a hairline fracture in my spine until just hours after I competed at conference championships in New Jersey," she said.

"It is time that SMU takes ownership for their lack of concern and action for the women's rowing program."