May 15, 2011
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The 20th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s rowing team concluded its regular season on Sunday at Melton Lake, qualifying all six boats for the grand final heats at the Oak Ridge Regionals. The Irish varsity four boat earned the highest finish for the squad, placing second in 7:22.52.
“We raced really hard today, said Irish head coach Martin Stone. “Today’s races were kind of a last chance for a lot of teams to make a case for the NCAA Championship. I thought all of our boats laid it out really hard. Our kids were all pouring it out and because of that I felt we did all we could today against some high quality teams.”
“Every boat just raced really well,” continued Stone. “I try and go through all the boats to see who had an outstanding performance and as I go down the line I can’t just single out any one boat because they all raced so hard. I’m really proud of the way they represented the University. Now we’ll wait on some of the other results around the country and see if we did enough to make the NCAAs.”
The varsity four boat, crewed by coxswain Christina Dines, Kiersten DeHaven, Ching-Ting Hwang, Courtney Gaberino and Teresa Rubinger, qualified for the grand final with a prelim time of 7:35.20 to win heat B over conference-rival Louisville. The boat was unable to claim the gold medal as a very tough Virginia boat crossed at 7:12.20 for the win, followed next by the Irish at 7:22.52. Clemson rounded out the top three in the race at 7:24.54.
The first grand final to take to the water was the third varsity eight race. There were no preliminary heats in this event as only six teams fielded a competing boat. The Irish boat, crewed by Jacqueline Corey, Julia Lynch, Anna VanEgmond, Nicole Michels, Meghan Salomon, Elizabeth Linnemanstons, Brianna Krafcik and Ingrid Woelfel, crossed in sixth place at 7:15.43. Virginia won the final in 6:50.40 followed by Clemson (7:04.76) and Oklahoma (7:07.36) in second and third, respectively.
Two Irish boats found themselves in the grand final of the open four race. The “A” boat, comprised of coxswain Jacqueline Gilhooly, Sarah McShane, Valerie Brencher, Paige White and Alyce Kanabrocki, finished second in heat A at 7:45.30, while the “B” boat, crewed by coxswain Danni Schneider, Kelsey Murphy, Kathryn Monahan, Sarah Thompson and Stephanie Boggs finished in 7:51.40 for third place in heat B. The grand final saw the Irish “B” and “A” boats finish in fourth and fifth, respectively, at 7:41.87 and 7:51.68. Virginia’s “A” boat won the race at 7:25.30 with Clemson (7:36.79) and Virginia “B” (7:38.65) rounding out the top three.
A second-place finish in preliminaries (6:55.13) earned a berth for the Irish second varsity eight boat in the grand finals. The crew of coxswain Rachael Louie, Katie Suyo, Teresa Blumenstein, Paige Aiello, Kelsey Haddad, Erin McConnell, Megan Keegan, Morgan Kelley and Joanna Poinsatte then turned in a third-place result in the grand final, crossing at 6:44.92. Virginia won the race at 6:39.30 with Clemson finished second at 6:42.36.
In the final race of the day, the Irish earned a fourth-place finish in the grand final of the varsity eight after crossing at 6:35.18. The crew of coxswain Abby Meyers, Stephanie Gretsch, Katherine Linnemanstons, Genevieve Malone, Stephanie O’Neill, Olivia Kacsits, Molly Bruggeman, Emily Crosby and Carol Ann Michel was unable to claim gold, but did get revenge on the Louisville crew who bested them at the BIG EAST Championships. The Cardinals boat fell to the Irish by more than three seconds at the Oak Ridge Regional after winning over Notre Dame by nearly three seconds two weeks prior. Virginia completed a sweep of all six grand finals, crossing first at 6:26.00. Clemson (6:31.86) and Duke (6:34.78) finished second and third, respectively.
Notre Dame now awaits its fate for the 2011 NCAA Championship. The selection show takes place Tuesday (May 17) at 5:00 p.m. (ET) with the top 16 teams earning a bid to compete May 27-29 at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Sacramento, Calif., for the 2011 NCAA title.
Oak Ridge Regional – Results
Grand Finals:
Third Varsity Eight (6 boats):
1. Virginia – 6:50.40; 2. Clemson – 7:04.67; 3. Oklahoma – 7:07.36; 4. Miami (FL) – 7:09.11; 5. Central Florida – 7:14.82; 6. NOTRE DAME – 7:15.43
Open Four (6 boats):
1. Virginia “A” – 7:25.30; 2. Clemson – 7:36.79; 3. Virginia “B” – 7:38.65; 4. NOTRE DAME “B” – 7:41.87; 5. NOTRE DAME “A” – 7:51.68; 6. Louisville – 7:54.46
Varsity Four (6 boats):
1. Virginia – 7:12.20; 2. NOTRE DAME – 7:22.52; 3. Clemson – 7:24.54; 4. Duke – 7:31.02; 5. Louisville – 7:32.19; 6. Tulsa – 7:38.39
Second Varsity Eight (6 boats):
1. Virginia – 6:39.30; 2. Clemson – 6:42.36; 3. NOTRE DAME – 6:44.92; 4. Rhode Island – 6:52.45; 5. Oklahoma – 6:53.55; 6. Louisville – 6:53.80
Varsity Eight (6 boats):
1. Virginia – 6:26.00; 2. Clemson – 6:31.86; 3. Duke – 6:34.78; 4. NOTRE DAME – 6:35.18; 5. Louisville – 6:38.84; 6. Oklahoma – 6:47.27
Preliminaries:
Open Four Heat A (6 boats):
1. Virginia “A” – 7:32.80; 2. NOTRE DAME “A” – 7:45.30; 3. Louisville “A” – 7:48.38; 4. Duke “A” – 7:49.77; 5. Oklahoma “A” – 7:57.39; 6. Tulsa “B” – 8:14.84
Open Four Heat B (5 boats):
1. Clemson “A” – 7:41.10; 2. Virginia “B” – 7:46.06; 3. NOTRE DAME “B” – 7:51.40; 4. Rhode Island “A” – 8:03.50; 5. Tulsa “A” – 8:13.91
Varsity Four Heat B (4 boats):
1. NOTRE DAME – 7:35.20; 2. Louisville – 7:36.92; 3. Clemson – 7:39.17; 4. Central Florida – 7:55.91
Second Varsity Eight Heat B (4 boats):
1. Clemson – 6:53.40; 2. NOTRE DAME – 6:55.13; 3. Rhode Island – 6:59.20; 4. Central Florida – 7:12.74
Varsity Eight Heat A (5 boats):
1. Virginia – 6:35.20; 2. NOTRE DAME – 6:43.41; 3. Oklahoma – 6:46.21; 4. Rhode Island – 6:46.64; 5. Tulsa – 6:47.44
–ND–