March 24, 2007
Belleville, Mich. – The No. 11 Notre Dame rowing team won the varsity four and novice races and finished, while varsity eight and second novice eight boats took second each at Belleville, Mich., on Saturday afternoon in a regatta against No. 15 Michigan, No. 14 Michigan State and Clemson. It was the third outing of the season for the Irish squad after opening up last weekend with two regattas in Tennessee. The novice eight remained undefeated with its victory and has now won all five of its races this spring.
In the varsity eight race, the Notre Dame crew of coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.) Christine Trezza (Staten Island, N.Y.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh, Pa.),Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.) was second to Clemson. The Tigers finished with a time of 6:51.36, while the Irish crossed the finish line in 6:54.40 in the four-boat race. Michigan State placed third in 6:57.20 and Michigan was fourth in 6:58.54.
The varsity four crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Anni Nowhitney (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.) had strong outing by registering a its win by nearly 10 seconds. The Irish crossed the finish line in 7:50.76, followed by Michigan State (8:00.31) and Michigan (8;18.14).
Notre Dame’s novice eight crew of coxswain AZ Tice (Woodsbury, Minn.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Casey Sullivan (Wilmettte, Ill.), Emily Backer (Cannelton, Ind.), Melissa Miller (Redding, Calif.), Kathleen Donahue (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dana Gates (Peoria, Ill.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.) and Kellyn Nestor (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) continued its outstanding start by winning its fifth race of the season in impression fashion. In the three-boat race, the Irish finished with a time of 7:09.87, followed by Michigan (7:18.12) and Michigan State (8:52.79).
Notre Dame’s second varsity eight crew of coxswain Eileen Froehlke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Sarah Kate Hafner (Tampa, Fla.), Casey Fairbanks (Dandridge, Tenn.), Kaitlin Jackson (West Bloomfield, Mich.) Jessica Guzik (Annandale, Va.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.) and Elli Greybar (Western Springs, Ill.) finished fourth in its race as the Irish registered a time of 7:12.46. Michigan State was victorious with a time of 6:59.33, followed by Michigan (7:06.20) and Clemson (7:10.67).
The second varsity four crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.), Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Alyssa Teves (Denver, Colo.) was third in its four-boat race as the Irish posted a time of 8:22.16. Michigan State “A” was first in 8:05.14, while Michigan earned a second-place finish in 8:19.60. Michigan State “B” took fourth in 8:52.79.
Notre Dame finished second to Michigan in the second novice eight race. The Irish boat Katie DeMartini (San Mateo, Calif.), Demetria Hueth (Sea Girt, N.J.), Laura Burdick (Terre Haute, Ind.), Caroline Elizondo (Clarence, N.J.), Andrea Archer (Redding, Conn.), Elise Janowak (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Katherine McMackin (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Mary Moto (Columbia, S.C.) finished with a time of 7:26.29, behind Michigan’s winning pace of 7:19.89.
“We had some mixed results today,” head coach Martin Stone said. “I was pleased with some of our races, especially from our novice eight, varsity four and varsity boats. This past week in practice we worked on improving some things we saw last weekend in Tennessee. I believe we showed progress in these areas, but we can still work on doing things better.”
Notre Dame returns to action on Sat., April 7 when the Irish travel to Indiana for the Indiana Invite.