April 14, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Notre Dame rowing team posted three race wins on the first day of the Virginia Invite Saturday on Lake Monticello. The Irish posted morning wins over Clemson in the varsity four, second varsity eight and varsity eight races.
The day got underway with novice eight/third varsity eight race. The Irish sent out a crew of coxswain Leah Corachea, Sarah McShane, Ching-Ting Hwang, Kiersten DeHaven, Elizabeth Linnemanstons, Kelsey Murphy, Valerie Brencher, Anna Sliwinski and Sarah Hart against Clemson and Northeastern. Notre Dame finished just behind Clemson (7:04.00), crossing the line at 7:06.60. Northeastern did not post a time in the heat.
Notre Dame turned in its most dominant performance of the morning in varsity four action. The Irish boat comprised of coxswain Danni Schneider, Joanna Poinsatte, Katie Suyo, Stella Willoughby and Kelsey Sekanick won by over 11 seconds against Clemson, stopping the clock at 7:31.30. The Tigers concluded with a mark of 7:42.50.
The second varsity eight boat, coxed by Christina Dines and crewed by Ingrid Woelfel, Lauren Tharp, Rose Doerfler, Anna Kottkamp, Paige Aiello, Kelsey Haddad, Teresa Blumenstein and Teresa Rubinger, made it two consecutive wins over the Tigers, finishing in 6:42.50 to hold off a Clemson boat that crossed in 6:46.30.
The Irish closed out wins in three of the four races against Clemson as they won by just over two seconds in the varsity eight heat to finish the morning. The Notre Dame crew of coxswain Abby Meyers, Courtney Gaberino, Morgan Kelley, Stephanie O’Neill, Erin McConnell, Olivia Kacsits, Ailish Sheehan, Erin Boxberger and Molly Bruggeman ended at 6:27.60 with the Tigers’ boat crossing at 6:29.80.
In the afternoon session, Notre Dame raced against Virginia and Northeastern in all four of the heats with the Irish earning second-place finishes in each. The docket started with the varsity four hitting the water. Notre Dame crossed in 7:34.30 for the runner-up result, while Virginia won in 7:28.00 and Northeastern took third in 8:05.70.
In the second varsity eight race, the Irish nearly claimed the heat victory after finishing in 6:48.80, but Virginia held on for the win after clocking a winning time of 6:46.20. Northeastern again finished third with a mark of 7:05.90.
The remaining two races saw the Irish varsity eight (6:35.40) fall to Virginia (6:23.20) but hold off Northeastern (6:41.8) and the Notre Dame third varsity eight (6:58.80) also place second behind Virginia (6:55.60) but ahead of Northeastern (7:17.20).
Race action concludes Sunday with the Irish rowing against the crews of San Diego and Penn. Be sure to check back with UND.com for a complete recap of the action.
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