April 15, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s rowing team returns to competition this weekend when it takes to the water at the Lake Natoma Invitational (LNI) on Saturday and Sunday at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif.
The Irish will square off with some of the best crews in the nation, as five of the nine teams competing in the LNI raced at the 2010 NCAA Championships, including four of the top seven finishers, led by California (second), Stanford (fourth), Brown (fifth) and Wisconsin (seventh). The remainder of the field is made up of Oregon State, Tennesse and Central Florida. Four teams are currently ranked in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Top 20 Poll – No. 3 Cal, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Brown, No. 10 Wisconsin.
The Irish return to competition for the first time in over three week, after last racing against Indiana, Purdue and Eastern Michigan on March 27. On that day, the Irish claimed three race wins, including the varsity four (7:56.0), second varsity eight (7:24.0) and second varsity four (7:37.4) races.
Race action gets underway at 9:00 a.m. (PT) Saturday with varsity four action, before moving to second varsity eight races and then varsity eight and novice eight races to conclude the morning. A similar afternoon schedule then follows beginning at 3:00 p.m. with varsity four races, followed by second varsity eight and varsity eight competition.
Sunday’s race action will commence at 8:00 a.m. starting with varsity four races and finishing with varsity eight competition. Heats will be determined based on race results from Saturday’s draws.
The Irish varsity eight boat will be crewed by coxswain Abby Meyers, Stephanie Gretsch, Katherine Linnemanstons, Genevieve Malone, Stephanie O’Neill, Olivia Kacsits, Molly Bruggeman, Emily Crosby and Carol Ann Michel.
The second varsity eight boat will see Rachael Louie serve as coxswain, with the remainder of the crew being comprised of Katie Suyo, Teresa Blumenstein, Paige Aiello, Kelsey Haddad, Erin McConnell, Meghan Keegan, Morgan Kelley and Joanna Poinsatte.
The varsity four boat is comprised of coxswain Christina Dines, Kiersten DeHaven, Theresa Rubinger, Courtney Gaberino and Ching-Ting Hwang. Paige White and Valerie Brencher also will travel with the team as alternates.
Be sure to check back with und.com for a complete recap of each day of competition at the Lake Natoma Invitational as the Irish wind down their regular season.
–ND–