Oct. 11, 2005
Rockford, Ill. – The University of Notre Dame rowing team enjoyed success on Sunday, October 9 in Rockford, Ill., as the Irish took part in the 20th annual Head of the Rock Regatta at the Rock River Race Course. Results and times from the race were officially posted on Tuesday (October 11).
In the open eight race, Notre Dame had five entries in the race with three of its boats finishing in the top 10. The crew of coxswain Maria Romano, Ankica Jedry, Amanda Polk, Mary Quinn, Laura Pearson, Casey Fairbanks, Melissa Felker, Andrea Doud and Sarah Palandech took third in the what a very competitive race. The Irish finished in 15:57.64 and were edged out by Minnesota’s crew that finished in 15:57.58. Wisconsin won the race in 15:47.21.
The crew of coxswain Shannan Lettieri, Jessica Guzik, Alyssa Close, Meghan Boyle, Pamela Jefson, Lindsay McQuaid, Sarah Kate Hafner, Danielle Stealy and Shannon Cassel was the second Irish boat to cross the finish line as they posted a time of 16:35.14 to earn a sixth-place finished behind two Wisconsin boats that were fourth and fifth and posted times of 16:02.56 and 16:12.39, respectively.
Notre Dame’s third boat to cross the finish line was comprised of coxswain Eileen Froehlke, Ashley St. Pierre, Danielle Leary, Kristan Madison, Erica Castro-Larsen, Elli Greybar, Kaitlin Jackson, Alyssa Teves and Ariel Klingaman as they earned a 10th-place finish in 17:11.20.
The fourth and fifth boats to row in the race finished 22nd and 23rd respectively. The shell of coswain Sarah Keithley, Amanda Gonzales, Samantha Glass, Anni Nowhitney, Megan Black, Lauren Buck, Christine Trezza, Vanessa Milajno and Courtney Hummel posted a time of 19:19.17, while coswain Kelsey Otero, Chelsea Meyer, Erica Copeland, Kelsey Reno, Kate Buza, Amy Arellano, Stephanie Bauer, Bridget Leone and Christy Carr recorded a time of 19:42.99.
“Our varsity crews did some good things, but we know that we can improve in some areas,” head coach Martin Stone said. “We would have liked our top boats to have rowed a little bit better, but it’s still early. I think we came out of this weekend having a better understanding of what we need to do to be faster in the water.”
The Irish had both of their novice eight boats finish in the top 10. The crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi, Gonzales, Mallory Glass, Nowhitney, Black, Buck, Trezza, Milano and Hummell were third in 19:03.34, finishing behind both of the Wisconsin boats which posted times of 18:15.75 and 18:32.26.
Earning a ninth-place finish was the crew of coxswain Kelsey Young, Meyer, Copeland, Reno, Buza, Arellano, Megan Grebe, Leone and Carr as they posted a time of 20:32.01.
“I was extremely pleased with how well our novice boats raced,” Stone said. Considering that this was their first race of the season, we were happy with their results and feel that this group has a great deal of potential.
Notre Dame returns to action on Saturday, October 29 when they host the Notre Dame Invitational at 1:00 p.m.