MADISON, Wis. -- Members of the Mendota Rowing Club early Tuesday morning helped rescue two people whose canoe had capsized on Lake Mendota.

Rowing club members found a man and a woman in the water at about 6:20 a.m.

"About a thousand meters off the bluff, we just saw this bump out in the water. It didn't really look like two people in the water. At first, it looked more like ducks or geese out there," said rowing coach Carter Dedolph, who aided in the rescue.

Dedolph said the rowers found a young couple in the water, clinging to an overturned canoe.

"They'd been treading water for quite a while. It was hard for them; he was getting tired. They didn't have any lifejackets. I think they were a little embarrassed about the whole situation," Dedolph said.

Dedolph said he got the two into a small motor boat used for coaching and learned the man and woman had been fighting to stay afloat for two hours.

"The woman, she was doing pretty well, carrying on conversation. The guy was having trouble talking -- he was pretty cold," said Dedolph.

Rowers said the two were smart to stay with the boat, but they weren't very prepared. They also said it isn't a good idea to be out on the lake alone hours before the sun comes up.

Jake Schuppe, a collegiate rower at a school in Pennsylvania, said swimming back from the middle of Lake Mendota would be nearly impossible for most people.

"I've been drilled for all five years I've been rowing, not to come out here by yourself because you don't know what's going to happen," Schuppe said.

Dedolph said he never got the couple's names or learned why they decided to venture out so early.

"This is just a guess -- it was warm last night, they couldn't sleep, so they decided to go canoeing," Dedolph said.

Rowing club members said they called a taxi for the couple and wanted them to go to a hospital, but they decided to go home instead.

The rowers said they hope the incident will remind others heading out on the lake to be better prepared.