University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Minneapolis, MN
University of Minnesota
vs
Head of the Mississippi
Photo by: Marc Lebryk
'U' Begins Fall Season Saturday at Head of the Mississippi
10/2/2026 12:30:00 PM | Rowing
46th edition of the regatta
MINNEAPOLIS - The Golden Gophers rowing team will begin their fall season Saturday, Oct. 3, during the 46th edition of the Head of the Mississippi Regatta. The first race of the day for the Maroon and Gold is set for 9 a.m. and will launch from the Irene Claudia Kroll Boathouse on campus.
A total of 41 races will be contested on Saturday featuring nearly 250 entries across high school, college, post-college, and master level competition, running from 8:45 a.m. until the final action at 4:45 p.m.
The event follows a nearly three-mile course of upstream racing on the Mississippi River, beginning at the Lake Street Bridge and continuing to the finish line just past the Washington Avenue Bridge. Crews are ranked by their finishing times, with the fastest rower or crew in each event earning the victory.
Minnesota's Schedule (subject to change)
9:00 a.m. - Women's Open 1x
9:30 a.m. - Women's Collegiate 4+
9:45 a.m. - Women's Collegiate Freshman 8+
10:30 a.m. - Women's Open 2x
10:30 a.m. - Women's Open 2-
12:15 p.m. - Women's Collegiate 8+
Minnesota's Lineup (subject to change)
Open 1x - Alexa Fauson and Kimberly Klassen
Collegiate 4V+A: Shelby Kaplan (cox), Courtney Hislop, Sienna Hubbard, Danna Strohsack, Mary Jane DeWeerdt
Collegiate 4V+B: Hema Chanamolu (cox), Jaden Deutscher, Paige Keller, Chloe Petersen, Abby Schroeder
Collegiate 4V+C: Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Lexi Storey, Victoria Knoll, Caroline Johnson, Emily Franke
Collegiate Freshman 8+: Amelia Vedder (cox), Avery Daniels, Elsa Myers, Abby McNutt, Lana Burr, Justyne Higman, Samantha Burd, Madeleine Bonnett, Fiona Robertson
Open 2xA - Kylie Mong (stroke), Emma Herstad (bow)
Open 2xB - Sophia Pirigyi (stroke), Josefine Freltoft (bow)
Open 2-A - Madeline Fincham (stroke), Emilie Rish (bow)
Collegiate 8V+A: Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Emma Herstad, Kylie Mong, Emilie Rish, Kimberly Klassen, Paige Keller, Madeline Fincham, Abby Schroeder, Mary Jane DeWeerdt
Collegiate 8V+B: Radhika Ajmera (cox), Sophia Pirigyi, Danna Strohsack, Chloe Petersen, Courtney Hislop, Sienna Hubbard, Josefine Freltoft, Jaden Deutscher, Alexa Fauson
Collegiate 8V+C: Katherine Bixby (cox), Emily Franke, Viktoria Lapikof, Victoria Knoll, Caroline Johnson, Sara Pfeiffer, Audrey Zimmerman, Lexi Storey, Sydney Loehrl
Collegiate 8V+D: Amelia Vedder (cox), Immy Lovatt, Lauren Fiddy, Kate Fitzpatrick, Elsa Myers, Amélie Bolt, Jules Jagatic, Maddie Hall, Kaitlyn Utley
Last Time on the Water
The Gophers closed the 2026 rowing season with an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships at Indianapolis Rowing Center in Indianapolis, Ind., last May. Minnesota earned its top finish of the regatta from the First Varsity Eight, which won the Petite Final by 1.2 seconds over USC and secured 60 team points. The Maroon and Gold also recorded runner-up finishes from the Second Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight crews, while the First Varsity Four placed third in the Petite Final.
Veteran Lineup
Minnesota enters the 2026-27 season with a veteran-heavy roster, featuring 15 seniors, most of whom have spent all four years of their collegiate careers wearing Maroon and Gold. That experience provides the Gophers with a strong foundation, particularly among the coxswains. Three seniors, Radhika Ajmera, Shelby Kaplan and Ashley Ohlemacher, will help lead the coxswain group, bringing valuable experience and leadership to the boats throughout the campaign.
Coach Strodel Extended
Over the summer, head coach Alicea Strodel agreed to a contract extension that will keep her with the Golden Gophers through the 2029-30 season. She has guided Minnesota rowing for the past seven seasons and under her direction, the program has consistently competed among the Big Ten's top programs, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Big Ten Championship. That was the program's best finish at the conference championship since 2015. Strodel has also helped the Gophers succeed in the classroom where a total of 93 student-athletes earned CRCA Scholar-Athlete honors, while the team has landed 231 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 109 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars during her time on campus.
B1G Weekly Honors
Minnesota's First Varsity Eight crew was named one of two Big Ten Conference Boat of the Week honorees following its performance at the Rocky Top Invite last April. The Gophers shined during the semifinal race from Oak Ridge, Tenn., as they upset a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, No. 14 Penn and No. 25 USC, advancing to the 'A' final. The crew erased a three-second deficit to rally past Penn by a half second, covering the 2,000-meter course in 6:36.341. The boat turned in a fifth-place finish to close the event and helped Minnesota place sixth overall. The selection extends a streak of three-straight years a Gophers' boat has been honored by the conference as they look to keep that trend going in 2026-27.
1V8 - Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Manon Field, Alexa Mueller, Lexi Schimnowski, Kimberly Klassen, Emilie Rish, Madeline Fincham, Sophia Pirigyi, Nuala Macfarlane
A total of 41 races will be contested on Saturday featuring nearly 250 entries across high school, college, post-college, and master level competition, running from 8:45 a.m. until the final action at 4:45 p.m.
The event follows a nearly three-mile course of upstream racing on the Mississippi River, beginning at the Lake Street Bridge and continuing to the finish line just past the Washington Avenue Bridge. Crews are ranked by their finishing times, with the fastest rower or crew in each event earning the victory.
Minnesota's Schedule (subject to change)
9:00 a.m. - Women's Open 1x
9:30 a.m. - Women's Collegiate 4+
9:45 a.m. - Women's Collegiate Freshman 8+
10:30 a.m. - Women's Open 2x
10:30 a.m. - Women's Open 2-
12:15 p.m. - Women's Collegiate 8+
Minnesota's Lineup (subject to change)
Open 1x - Alexa Fauson and Kimberly Klassen
Collegiate 4V+A: Shelby Kaplan (cox), Courtney Hislop, Sienna Hubbard, Danna Strohsack, Mary Jane DeWeerdt
Collegiate 4V+B: Hema Chanamolu (cox), Jaden Deutscher, Paige Keller, Chloe Petersen, Abby Schroeder
Collegiate 4V+C: Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Lexi Storey, Victoria Knoll, Caroline Johnson, Emily Franke
Collegiate Freshman 8+: Amelia Vedder (cox), Avery Daniels, Elsa Myers, Abby McNutt, Lana Burr, Justyne Higman, Samantha Burd, Madeleine Bonnett, Fiona Robertson
Open 2xA - Kylie Mong (stroke), Emma Herstad (bow)
Open 2xB - Sophia Pirigyi (stroke), Josefine Freltoft (bow)
Open 2-A - Madeline Fincham (stroke), Emilie Rish (bow)
Collegiate 8V+A: Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Emma Herstad, Kylie Mong, Emilie Rish, Kimberly Klassen, Paige Keller, Madeline Fincham, Abby Schroeder, Mary Jane DeWeerdt
Collegiate 8V+B: Radhika Ajmera (cox), Sophia Pirigyi, Danna Strohsack, Chloe Petersen, Courtney Hislop, Sienna Hubbard, Josefine Freltoft, Jaden Deutscher, Alexa Fauson
Collegiate 8V+C: Katherine Bixby (cox), Emily Franke, Viktoria Lapikof, Victoria Knoll, Caroline Johnson, Sara Pfeiffer, Audrey Zimmerman, Lexi Storey, Sydney Loehrl
Collegiate 8V+D: Amelia Vedder (cox), Immy Lovatt, Lauren Fiddy, Kate Fitzpatrick, Elsa Myers, Amélie Bolt, Jules Jagatic, Maddie Hall, Kaitlyn Utley
Last Time on the Water
The Gophers closed the 2026 rowing season with an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships at Indianapolis Rowing Center in Indianapolis, Ind., last May. Minnesota earned its top finish of the regatta from the First Varsity Eight, which won the Petite Final by 1.2 seconds over USC and secured 60 team points. The Maroon and Gold also recorded runner-up finishes from the Second Varsity Eight and Third Varsity Eight crews, while the First Varsity Four placed third in the Petite Final.
Veteran Lineup
Minnesota enters the 2026-27 season with a veteran-heavy roster, featuring 15 seniors, most of whom have spent all four years of their collegiate careers wearing Maroon and Gold. That experience provides the Gophers with a strong foundation, particularly among the coxswains. Three seniors, Radhika Ajmera, Shelby Kaplan and Ashley Ohlemacher, will help lead the coxswain group, bringing valuable experience and leadership to the boats throughout the campaign.
Coach Strodel Extended
Over the summer, head coach Alicea Strodel agreed to a contract extension that will keep her with the Golden Gophers through the 2029-30 season. She has guided Minnesota rowing for the past seven seasons and under her direction, the program has consistently competed among the Big Ten's top programs, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Big Ten Championship. That was the program's best finish at the conference championship since 2015. Strodel has also helped the Gophers succeed in the classroom where a total of 93 student-athletes earned CRCA Scholar-Athlete honors, while the team has landed 231 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 109 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars during her time on campus.
B1G Weekly Honors
Minnesota's First Varsity Eight crew was named one of two Big Ten Conference Boat of the Week honorees following its performance at the Rocky Top Invite last April. The Gophers shined during the semifinal race from Oak Ridge, Tenn., as they upset a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, No. 14 Penn and No. 25 USC, advancing to the 'A' final. The crew erased a three-second deficit to rally past Penn by a half second, covering the 2,000-meter course in 6:36.341. The boat turned in a fifth-place finish to close the event and helped Minnesota place sixth overall. The selection extends a streak of three-straight years a Gophers' boat has been honored by the conference as they look to keep that trend going in 2026-27.
1V8 - Ashley Ohlemacher (cox), Manon Field, Alexa Mueller, Lexi Schimnowski, Kimberly Klassen, Emilie Rish, Madeline Fincham, Sophia Pirigyi, Nuala Macfarlane
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