(WNFL) Senior rower Maddie Wanamaker from Neenah and former Badgers Monica Whitehouse from Muskego and Helena Randle of Brookline, Massachusetts will make their international debuts this summer when they compete at the 2016 Senior, Under 23 and Junior World Rowing Championships scheduled for August 21-28 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Wanamaker will row for the U.S. under 23 team’s quadruple sculls after rowing this past season for Wisconsin in the varsity eight. The eight finished ninth at the NCAA championships, tying a program best. The boat finished third at the Big Ten championships to help UW place second as a team. A two-time Big Ten Boat of the Week winner with the varsity eight, Wanamaker and the crew knocked off No. 2 California at the San Diego Crew Classic in the heats, among other season highlights.
Lexi Siverling (Cadott, Wisconsin), a junior who rowed her sophomore season alongside Wanamaker in the UW varsity eight, was selected as an alternate for the team.
In addition, junior coxswain Lily Hansen (San Anselmo, California) reached the final two, but fell just short in making the under 23 squad.
Wanamaker will travel abroad along with former Badger openweight rower Monica Whitehouse, who will race in the quadruple sculls in the senior world championships at the same time and location. Whitehouse, competing in a composite boat with rowers from Potomac Boat Club, Riverside Boat Club and Sarasota Crew, won the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls on Wednesday, winning over a crew from Vesper Boat Club to earn their spot. Whitehouse’s boat timed 7:01.62 over 2000 meters, nearly seven seconds faster than the Vesper crew.
Randle, a two-time lightweight All-American for the Badgers, will also be making the trip, representing the U.S. in the under 23 lightweight women’s quadruple sculls. Randle was a member of UW’s lightweight eight for three seasons, including this past year’s crew that placed fourth at the 2016 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships, and last year’s that took fifth at the championships in 2015. She was part of UW’s lightweight four that won an IRA title in 2013.
