March 1, 2013

East Lansing, Mich. -- - Michigan State's rowing program departs today (Friday, March 1) for a week-long training trip to Virginia, officially kicking off the 2013 season.

The Spartans departed from campus at the completion of classes prior to Spring Break, and will spend a week training at Claytor Lake State Park in Southwestern Virginia. The team will look to turn all of the indoor training from the winter months into a strong week on the water. MSU will get a noteworthy early test, as the trip will conclude with a scrimmage against defending National Champion Virginia on Saturday, March 9.

"I feel like we've really made som e strides," said head coach Matt Weise. "We were really pleased with some of the results from our erg tests during the final week of training before we left. I'm happy with the improvement I have seen from the fall. I'm pretty anxious to get on the water to start the next phase of our training."

After the March 9 exhibition races against the Cavaliers, MSU will host Notre Dame, Iowa, an Michigan on March 30 in their first races of the spring season at Sleepy Hollow State Park in Laingsburg. MAU will face Big Ten competition at Ohio State (April 13, with Indiana and Michigan) and at Wisconsin (May 5, with Minnesota) as well as participate in the Clemson Duals on April 20-21. The Big Ten Championships will be held May 19 in Indianapolis. .