May 30, 2013

NCAA Race Notes Get Acrobat Reader

NCAA Rowing Digital Media Guide

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame rowing team travels to Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis this weekend to compete for the 2013 NCAA Championship. The Irish take the water for the first time at 9:30 a.m. (ET) Friday in the third heat of the first varsity eight.

Notre Dame’s varsity eight entry features the same lineup that claimed a grand final triumph at the BIG EAST Championship May 19. Coxswain Abby Meyers, Joanna Poinsatte, Stephanie O’Neill, Joanna Mulvey, Courtney Gaberino, Erin Boxberger, Ailish Sheehan, Anna Kottkamp and Molly Bruggeman will occupy lane two against Navy, Ohio State, California, Cornell and Marist in a six-boat contest.

The Irish second varsity eight launch is scheduled to race against Gonzaga, Southern California, Princeton, Oklahoma and Marist at approximately 10:10 a.m. Coxswain Christina Dines, Paige Aiello, Teresa Blumenstein, Ingrid Woelfel, Carlee Beckler, Rose Doerfler, Kelsey Haddad, Kelsey Sekanick and Teresa Rubinger will occupy the second lane in the third heat.

The final Notre Dame racing of the opening day will be in varsity four competition. The Irish crew of coxswain Danni Schneider, Kelsey Murphy, Ellen Gleadow, Stella Willoughby and Kiersten DeHaven will row in the second lane of the fourth and final heat at 11 a.m. against Navy, UCLA, Washington, Michigan and Gonzaga.

The Irish will make their sixth all-time appearance at the NCAA Championship and second straight trip to the national races after earning a bid to last season’s event on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Notre Dame’s varsity four entry earned runner-up honors in the Petite Finals of the 2012 NCAA Championship.

For the second straight season, the Irish were the lone BIG EAST team to qualify for the NCAA regatta. The Pac-12 had six member institutions chosen, while the Ivy League will send five representatives to the races for the second straight season. Joining Notre Dame at Eagle Creek Park is Boston University, Brown, California, Cornell, Gonzaga, Harvard, Marist, Michigan, Navy, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Princeton, Rhode Island, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale.

The 2013 NCAA Championship will be the first to feature 22 teams, up from the 16-team field utilized in the last several championships. Teams that qualified for the championship regatta are required to field two boats of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers.

–ND–