Oct. 31, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame rowing team enjoyed a successful day of competition in its final regatta of the fall season as the Irish earned a first-place and two second-place finishes in the seven races they competed in at the Head of the Elk.
In the premier event of the meet, Notre Dame took second in the Open Eight “A” race as the crew of Maria Romano, Ankica Jedry, Amanda Polk, Mary Quinn, Laura Pearson, Casey Fairbanks, Meg Boyle, Andrea Doud and Sarah Palandech posted a time of 14:29.23 in the field of 19 boats. Louisville won the race with a time of 14:11.52, while Indiana was third (14:37.88), followed by Dayton (14:57.41) and Eastern Michigan (15:00.65) in the top five.
In the Open Eight “B” race, coxswain Shannan Lettieri, Jessica Guzik, Alyssa Close, Danielle Stealy, Julie Sobolewski, Lindsay McQuaid, Pamela Jefson, Melissa Felker and Sarah Kate Hafner were victorious in their race as they crossed the finish line in 14:45.41, nearly 23 seconds ahead of Cincinnati (15:08.12). Louisville was third in 15:13.57 in the 10-boat field, followed by Dayton (15:38.57) and Grand Valley State (15:46.16), rounding out the top five.
The Open Four “A” race saw the Irish place 10th among the 23 boats in the race. The Notre Dame crew of coxswain Christina Padayhag, Allison Marsh, Brittany Burnham and Elli Greybar registered a time of 17:22.30. Grand Valley State finished first in 16:22.64, followed by Indiana (16:35.62), Louisville (16:45.51), Washington University (16:45.56), Dayton (16:48.14), Marquette (16:54.23), Mercyhurst (17:02.42), Northern Michigan (17:11.45) and Northwestern (17:22.30).
In the Open Four “B” race, Notre Dame was fourth among the 15 boats in the race as the crew of coxswain Kelsey Otero, Ashley St. Pierre, Erica Castro-Larsen, Kaitlin Jackson and Alyssa Teves posted a time of 17:41.49. Eastern Michigan took first in 17:04.95, followed by Washington University (17:05.39) and Louiville (17:21.42). Grand Valley rounded out the top five finishers with a time of 17:59.07.
Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Ko Un Park, Ariel Klingaman, Shannon Cassel, Danielle Leary and Mary Kate McNamara finished second in the Open Eight “C” race with a time of 17:45.14. Eastern Michigan took first among the five entrants in 17:32.78, while Michigan State was third (18:59.65), followed by Grand Valley State (19:14.16) and Marquette (23:40.84).
The Irish novice eight crews earned two top-five finishes. Notre Dame’s boat of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi, Amanda Gonzales, Mallory Glass, Anni Nowhitney, Megan Black, Lauren Buck, Laura Petnuch, Vanessa Milano and Courtney Hummel finished fourth in the 17-boat field of the Novice Eight “A” race as they posted a time of 17:14.57. Indiana took first in 16:11.92, followed by Dayton (16:28.42) in second and Louisville (16:41.64) in third. Grand Valley State was fifth, crossing the finish line in 17:23.78.
In the Novice Eight “B” event, Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Kelsey Young, Erica Copeland, Katie Buza, Christy Carr, Kelsey Reno, Megan Grebe, Amy Arellano, Stephanie Bauer and Sabrina Barbosa was fifth among the 10 boats competing in the race as the Irish finished with a time of 18:14.48. Indiana crossed the finish line first in 16:57.09, followed by Dayton (17:21.28), Grand Valley State (17:28.72) and Louisville (18:03.61).