April 27, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame rowing team continued its momentum from an overnight lead, claiming the Dale England Cup Saturday on Lake Mellon.
The Irish scored a total of 118 points to earn first place over runner-up Iowa (98 points). Indiana took third with 84 points, followed by Alabama in fourth place with 60 points.
“It went very well for us this weekend,” Notre Dame head coach Martin Stone said. “We’ve been dealing with our travel schedule from last week (returning from the West Coast), and the water conditions limited us from being on the water Thursday and some of Friday morning before racing began. I thought all the boats raced hard, went after it and tried to see how fast they could go.”
Notre Dame picked up its first win of the day in novice eight racing, as the Irish ‘A’ squad of Alex Techar, Katie Skorcz, Madelyn Tournat, Sarah Russel, Alexis Olson, Katherine Lumetta, Emily Horton, Sarah Kappers and Mairead Dunne logged a time of 7:21.70 to defeat Iowa (7:34.20). Notre Dame’s open eight entry of coxswain Tina Techar, Sarah Claeys, Christine McGough, Anne Blieszner, Sarah McShane, Anna Van Egmond, Elizabeth Linnemanstons, Analisa LaMair-Orosco and Madeline Loper claimed third place in 7:47.20.
The Irish continued the momentum in the varsity four, as the ‘A’ launch of Maggie McKee, Kelsey Murphy, Ellen Gleadow, Stella Willoughby and Kiersten DeHaven streaked to victory in 7:44.80. Coxswain Mikaela Prego, Kendra Rask, Madelynn Conlin, Haley Johnson and Elizabeth Kelley earned runner-up honors (7:53.70).
In the second varsity eight, Notre Dame broke the seven-minute barrier for the first time during the morning session. Coxswain Christina Dines, Paige Aiello, Teresa Blumenstein, Ingrid Woelfel, Carlee Beckler, Rose Doerfler, Kelsey Haddad, Kelsey Sekanick and Teresa Rubinger won by exactly 15 seconds against Iowa (7:13.40), logging a time of 6:58.40.
Notre Dame closed out the morning session with a victory in the first varsity eight. The Irish crew of coxswain Abby Meyers, Joanna Poinsatte, Stephanie O’Neill, Joanna Mulvey, Courtney Gaberino, Erin Boxberger, Ailish Sheehan, Anna Kottkamp and Molly Bruggeman clocked the morning’s fastest time (6:46.40) to outpace Iowa (7:01.70).
Varying weather conditions during the afternoon session had a considerable effect on the times that were posted, as boats from all four teams involved logged considerably slower times than earlier in the day.
“This afternoon’s racing was into a tough headwind,” Stone said. “The races were pretty long, but as a team we handled it well. We won the Dale England Cup, and everyone contributed to it.”
The second varsity four squad won its first race of the day against Indiana, logging a winning margin of more than 46 seconds. Prego, Rask, Conlin, Johnson and Kelley completed the trek in 8:59.30 to down the Hoosier launch (9:46.60).
Notre Dame’s first varsity four crew posted its second victory of the day against Indiana, as the Irish logged a 9:14.00 to win by more than 10 seconds (9:24.60).
The second varsity eight completed its Saturday sweep with a time of 7:37.30 in heads-up racing with Indiana. The Hoosiers were nearly 20 seconds behind the Irish (7:56.40) in second place.
Notre Dame (7:26.50) closed the afternoon with an impressive performance in the event’s final competition, the first varsity eight, outpacing Indiana by 29.50 seconds (7:55.00).
“Indiana did a phenomenal job of hosting, and much credit should be given to Indiana and Dale England,” Stone said. “It was a very fine event for us.”
–ND–