Following Saturday's races, Notre Dame will be back on the waters again on Tuesday against No. 8 Michigan State

Irish Rowers Head To Indianapolis For Competition Against Indiana, Purdue And Louisville

April 8, 2005

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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NOTRE DAME FACES IN-STATE FOES PURDUE, INDIANA AND LOUISVILLE IN REGATTAS TO START BUSY WEEK: The Irish rowing team begins a busy week when the they travel to Indianapolis on Saturday, April 9 for two regatta sessions in the morning and afternoon … Notre Dame will row against Purdue and Indiana in the morning session and then face Louisville and Purdue in the afternoon … On Tuesday, April 12, Notre Dame will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face No. 8 Michigan State.

THE SCHEDULE: Lineups and schedule still to be determined.

SEVEN YEARS YOUNG: The Notre Dame program is in its seventh season of competition at the varsity level … It was granted varsity status in 1996 and then competed in its first regatta in the fall of 1998 … The Irish claimed the BIG EAST Rowing Challenge title in 2004 after three consecutive runner-up finishes … The Irish varsity eight crew also earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Championships for the second time in school history and placed 11th … Notre Dame also was 16th in the final US Rowing/CRCA poll.

HEAD COACH Martin Stone: Martin Stone has been the only coach the Notre Dame rowing program has known … He was named head coach on October 29, 1997 after five years as head coach at the United States Naval Academy … Stone has guided the Irish varsity eight to two NCAA appearances — 2002 (finished 16th) and 2004 (finished 11th) … Last season, he was selected BIG EAST Coach of the Year after leading the Irish to their first-ever team title at the 2004 BIG EAST Rowing Challenge.

THE CAPTAINS: Senior coxswain Maureen Gibbons (Langhorne, Pa.) and senior stroke Meredith Thornburgh (Indianapolis, Ind.) will serve as captains for the 2004-05 campaign … Gibbons was a member of the Irish varsity eight crew which won the BIG EAST title and earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Championships in 2004 … Thornburgh rowed in the first varsity four boat that won the gold medal in that event last season.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: Freshman Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was a member of the United States Rowing Junior National Team in the summer of 2004 that competed at the FISA Senior and Junior World Rowing Championships in Banyoles, Spain … She was a member of the junior women’s eight crew that won the B final to earn a seventh-place finish overall in the event.

IRISH ROW WELL AT SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC: Notre Dame enjoyed success at the San Diego Crew Classic a week ago as the open eight qualified for the Grand Final, while the varsity eight, second eight and novice eight each made the petite finals in their events … The novice eight crew of Christina Padayhag (Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.) and freshmen Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Casey Fairbanks (Dandridge, Tenn.), Kathleen Linzmeier (Coto de Caza, Calif.), Carolyn Sarb (Lisle, Ill.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.) and sophomore Megan Marshall (South Bend, Ind.) won the Petite Final … The varsity eight crew of coxswain senior Maureen Gibbons (Langhorne, Pa.), sophomore, Jessica Guzik (Annandale, Va.), senior Rachel Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio), freshman Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.), freshman Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), freshman Allison Marsh, junior Sarah Palandech (Lakenheath, United Kingdom), senior Kathleen Chenoweth (East Lansing, Mich.) and junior Melissa Felker (Bellevue, Wash.) took runner-up honors in the Petite final of the prestigious Jessop-Whittier Cup, while the second varsity eight crew of Caitlin Rackish (Williamsport, Pa.), senior Meredith Thornburgh (Indianapolis, Ind.), freshman Ankica (Chicago, Ill.), senior Elizabeth Specht (Berekely, Calif.), sophomore Alyssa Close (South Dennis, Mass.), freshman Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.), junior Andrea Doud (Redford, Mich.), junior Pamela Jefson (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and sophomore Sarah Kate Hafner (Tampa, Fla.) took third … In the Grand Final of the open eight, Notre Dame’s crew of junior Shannan Lettieri (Cairo, N.Y.), senior Shannon Mohan (Naperville, Ill.), senior Kati Sedun (Lake Oswego, Ore.), sophomore Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Iowa), junior Danielle Stealy (Culver, Ind.), senior Kristin Henkel (Manchester, Conn.), senior Devon Hegeman (Haddonfield, N.J.), senior Tricia Hale (Page, Ariz.) and sophomore Ariel Klingaman (Canton, Ohio) earned a fifth-place finish.

NEXT UP FOR THE IRISH: Notre Dame travels to East Lansing, Mich., on Tuesday, April 23 to face No. 8 Michigan State.