May 7, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Days after the Michigan State rowing team captured its second Big Ten Title in four years, the Spartans swept the conference's major awards: Senior Anne Cowan was honored as the Athlete of the Year, Laura Cowal nabbed the Freshman of the Year award, and Spartan head coach Matt Weise was named the 2008 Big Ten Conference's Coach of the Year, as announced Wednesday by the league office.

Cowan and Cowal are both members of MSU's fifth-ranked varsity eight crew, who finished first at the Big Ten Championship on May 3.

Cowan is the Spartans' six-seat in MSU's fifth-ranked varsity eight, helping the crew claim the 2008 Big Ten title with a 6:31.0 finish. It is Cowan's second year in the varsity boat. The London, Ontario native rowed in four seat of the second varsity eight in 2006 at the NCAA Championship, which placed sixth with a time of 6:51.22. As a freshman, Cowan rowed in the six seat of the second varsity at the NCAA Championships, finishing .09 seconds out of fourth place in grand final. Additionally, Cowan competed for Canada at the 2006 World Under-23 Championships in the pair.

"Anne was the 2005 Freshman of the Year, and she just gotten better with every year," said Weise. "She's such a positive person, and can definitely lighten the mood but can also push her teammates and really inspire them."

Cowan adds Athlete of the Year to her previous conference achievements, including the 2005 Freshman of the Year as well as being a member of the 2007 Spring Academic All-Conference roster.

Cowal, a freshman from Thorold, Ontario, made an immediate impact in the varsity eight. Contributing to the boat's national ranking, Cowal rowed throughout the regular season in the four seat, before moving to the bow for the Big Ten Championships, where she helped MSU to a first-place finish.

"Laura is just a performer," said Weise. "She doesn't fold under pressure, and actually - I think she responds very positively to pressure. She's performance based."

In his four years as head coach, Weise has led his Spartans to two Big Ten Championships (2005, 2008), and has been named the conference's Coach of the Year in both years. Weise coached the Spartans to a program-best sixth-place team finish at the NCAA Championship in 2006, an effort that included the varsity eight's sixth-place finish, marking the highest varsity eight placing for MSU. In his first season at the helm of MSU's program in 2005, Weise led the Green and White to its first-ever Big Ten Championship, while being recognized as the Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Central Region's Coach of the Year.

Additionally, the league named five Spartans to its All-Big Ten Teams: Katie Bitz, Joanna Brown, and Cowan were named to the First Team, while Kate Burdick and Emily Regan were Second Team honorees. Ashley Peach was MSU's Big Ten Sportmanship honoree.

The Spartans will next compete at the NCAA South/Central sprints May 17-18 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.