March 17, 2007
Knoxville, Tenn. – The Notre Dame rowing team opened up the spring portion of its 2007 scheduled with strong results against two of the nation’s top programs — Tennessee and Minnesota. Notre Dame’s top performance of the afternoon came from its novice eight boat won all three rounds of races.
The varsity eight boat, ranked 11th nationally in the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll, was third in first and third rounds, while taking second in the second race of the morning. The crew of coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Christine Trezza (Staten Island, N.Y.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.) finished with a time of 4:57.2 in the first race of the morning as Minnesota (ranked 13th) was first in 4:48.7, followed by Tennessee (ranked ninth) in 4:49.3.
In round two, Notre Dame placed second with its best time of the day in 4:53.9 as Minnesota once again took first with a time of 4:51.1 and Tennessee third in 4:58.8. The third race of the day saw the varsity eight boat post a time of 5:01.3 with Minnesota winning the race in 4:53.9 and Tennessee taking second in 5:01.3.
“We had similar results a year ago against these two same schools,” head coach Martin Stone said. “Both of these teams are very good. I was pleased with our results and we are coming off of a good week of training.”
The most pleasant surprise of the day came from Notre Dame’s first novice eight crew as they won all three of their races. The boat of coxswain AZ Tice (Woodsbury, Minn.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Casey Sullivan (Wilmette, 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.) finished with a time of 5:07.2 in its first collegiate race, more than five seconds ahead of Minnesota (5:12.4) and Tennessee (5:21.78). In the second race, the crew finished with a time of 5:16.3, better than six seconds ahead of Minnesota (5:22.7) and Tennessee (5:37.0). In the final race of the day, the Irish posted a time of 5:20.3, followed by Minnesota (5:25.7) and Tennessee (5:42.3).
“We were obviously very pleased with how well our novice eight crew rowed. I’m not sure we have ever had such strong results from this boat so early in the season. It certainly is something to build on in the upcoming weeks.”
Notre Dame’s second varsity eight crew of coxswain Eileen Froehlke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Casey Fairbanks (Dandridge, Tenn.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Jessica Guzik (Annandale, Va.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.) and Elli Graybar (Western Springs, Ill.) finished third in all three of its races with Tennessee and Minnesota placing first and second, respectively, in all three of the events.
In the first race, the Irish finished with a time of 5:04.2 as Tennessee crossed the finish line in 4:52.5 and Minnesota in 4:57.1. In the second round of competition, Notre Dame posted a time of 5:08.5, while Tennessee edged Minnesota 4:56.3 to 4:56.8. In round third, the Irish improved their time by just over three seconds as they finished in 5:05.1, while Tennessee posted a time of 4:52.8 and Minnesota registered a time of 4:55.7.
Notre Dame took third in each round of the varsity four races. In the first two rounds the crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Texas), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.), Kaitlin Jackson (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head S.C.) and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.) had an opening round time of 5:44.2 as Minnesota took first in 5:34.1 and Tennessee took second in 5:35.2. In the second race, the Irish improved their time to a 5:42.5, while the order of finish remained the same with Minnesota posting a time of 5:32.4 and Tennessee finishing the race in 5:38.8.
In round three of the varsity four race, the crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Jackson, Burnham and Copeland finished with a time of 5:50.1, while Minnesota and Tennessee posted times of 5:33.9 and 5:42.4, respectively.
The Irish used three different crews in the second varsity four races as Notre Dame took third in each round. In the first race, the crew of Szegedi, Erica Castron-Larsen (Lake Matthews, Calif.), Alyssa Teves (Denver, Colo.), Petnuch and Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Iowa) finished with a time of 5:40.6, behind Minnesota (5:33.1) and Tennessee (5:36.7).
In the second round, the boat of coxswain Christine Padayhag (Kwajalein, Marshall Islands), Castro-Larsen, Teves, Danielle Leary (Shrewbury, Mass.) and Cassel posted a time of 6:07.6, behind both Minnesota (5:50.2) and Tennessee (5:55.6). In round three, the crew of coxswain Kelsey Otero (Mequon, Wis.), Leary, Teves, Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Cassel finished with a time of 6:09.7 as Minnesota took first in 5:41.4 and Tennesee was second in 5:46.1.
The second novice eight boat crew of coxswain Katie DeMartini (San Mateo, Calif.), Demetria Hueth (Sea Girt, N.J.), Laura Burdick (Terre Haute, Ind.), Caroline Elizondo (Clarence, N.J.), Katie Motto (Columbia, S.C.), Elise Janowak (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Katherine McMackin (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Andrea Archer (Redding, Conn.) took second in all three of its races. In the first round of race, the crew finished with a time of 5:36.2. Minnesota took first in 5:28.3, while Tennessee was third in 5:37.6. In the second race, which was shortened to 1,000 meters, the Irish finished with a time of 4:002, while Minnesota once again won the race in 3:53.4, while Tennessee was third in 4:05.2. The final round of racing saw the Irish post a time of 5:44.5, behind Minnesota (5:36.1) and ahead of Tennessee (5:51.1).
Notre Dame will race again on Sunday as it concludes its spring break training when it faces Alabama and Cincinnati at Oak Ridge, Tenn.