June 10, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. – Four Notre Dame rowers were named today to the 2002 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-Central Region team. Senior Michelle Olsgard and junior Ashlee Warren earned first-team honors for the second consecutive season, while senior Katherine Burnett and sophomore Natalie Ladine were named to the second-team.

The four selections mark the most ever for the Notre Dame rowing program in one season. Last year, Olsgard and Warren earned first-team honors, while in 2000, former Irish star Katrina Ten Eyck became the first Notre Dame rower to garner the award.

Olsgard and Warren were the leaders of the Irish varsity eight, which earned its first ever invitation to the NCAA Rowing Championships in 2002, finishing 16th. Olsgard, from Fort Collins, Colo., has rowed in the varsity eight shell the past three seasons and is a three-time monogram winner. In 2002, Olsgard rowed in the seventh seat, helping the Irish finish fifth at the prestigious San Diego Crew Classic and achieve their first top-10 ranking in the history of the program. A team captain in ’02, Olsgard was one of 12 women invited to the freshman rowing camp at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in 1999. Olsgard graduated in May with a degree in environmental science.

Warren, from Gibsonburg, Ohio, earned her second consecutive All-Central Region nod this season after rowing in sixth seat of the Irish varsity eight in ’02. The best port erger on the team, Warren posted the second-fastest 2,000-meter erg time in the spring for the Irish at 7:13.40. The junior also was named to the US Rowing Collegiate Honor Roll in the fall of 2001, becoming along with Becky Luckett, the first Irish recipients of that prestigiuos honor.

Burnett, from Germantown, Tenn., completed her third season rowing in the varsity eight for the Irish, this year in the bow seat. Known for her competitiveness, Burnett is also a three-time CRCA National Scholar-Athlete Award winner. She recently graduated in May with a degree in biology and will attend Georgetown Medical School in the fall.

A native of Sacramento, Calif., Ladine took the Irish by surprise this season as she moved into the third seat of the varsity eight after rowing on the novice roster in ’01. The sophomore posted the fastest 2,000-meter erg time on the Irish this spring at 7:11.70 and did well in the pair races she competed in this fall. She is the best starboard erger on the Irish roster and was also named to the CRCA National Scholar-Athlete team.

The All-Region awards are designed to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of female rowers and coxswains during the current season. Each nominee must meet eligibility rules as defined by Notre Dame, participate in at least 75 percent of the season’s races in the varsity boat and the student-athletes head coach must be in good standing with the CRCA.

The12 rowers and 1 coxswain who comprise the team are selected by the CRCA head coaches based on the nominee’s team record, strength of schedule, nomination rank, coach’s comments and 2,000-ergometer score.