April 5, 2008

East Lansing, Mich. – The Notre Dame rowing team had mixed results today against Michigan State and Miami. The Irish third varsity four and second novice eight boats, were victorious in both the morning and afternoon sessions of races on the day. Overall on the day the Irish were victorious in eight of the 14 races in which they competed.

The No. 14 ranked Notre Dame varsity eight boat took on the No. 8 ranked varsity eight boat of the Michigan State Spartans in the morning session. Despite their best efforts, the Irish crew featuring coxswain Kelsey Otero (Meqoun, Wis.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Kendra Short (Everett, Wash.), Christine Trezza (Staten Island, N.Y.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) finished five second behind the Spartans’ time of 7:22.7, with a time of 7:28.5.

In the afternoon session against Miami (Fla.) the Irish rebounded well, finishing in a time of 7:43.2, besting the time of the Hurricanes by 22 seconds who finished in 8:06.1.

The second varsity eight boat of the Irish also dropped a tightly contested morning race against Michigan State, before recovering in the afternoon session for a convincing win over Miami. The second boat, crewed by coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.), Carol Ann Michel (Princeton, N.J.), Emily Crosby (Middletown, N.J.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Elli Greybar (Western Springs, Ill.), Anni Nowhitney (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.) and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.), finished in a time of 7:47.1, finishing just three seconds behind Michigan State’s winning time of 7:43.3. However, in the afternoon the crew improved on their morning time to finish in 7:43.2 and defeat the Hurricanes, who finished in a time of 8:06.1.

In the varsity four races in the morning session, the Irish struggled in the first and second race, but were able to win the third of the session. In the afternoon session of races, Notre Dame rebounded to win at the third varsity four race and the first varsity four, while dropping the race at second varsity four.

The first varsity four crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Erica Castro-Larsen (Lake Matthew, Cal.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Mallory Glass (Okemos, Mich.) finished in a time of 8:47.0, falling to the Spartans’ time of 8:31.9 in the morning. However, in the afternoon the Irish crew recovered for a victory of the Hurricanes, with a time of 9:09.8 to Miami’s time of 9:31.1.

The second varsity four boat, crewed by coxswain Rachael Louie (Summit, N.J.), Brittany Jacksonb (Eugene, Ore.), Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.) and Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.) dropping their race to Michigan State. The Irish finished in a time of 9:07.7 while the Spartans finished in 8:44.0. Notre Dame would improve in the afternoon session but drop another decision to Michigan State. The crew of coxswain Katherine McMackin (Chevy Chase, Md.), Andrea Archer (Redding, Conn.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Kellyn Nestor (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) rowed inn the afternoon session and finished in 9:07.2 while Michigan State crossed the line in 8:58.1.

The third varsity four boat had a great day, winning both the morning and afternoon races. The Irish crew of coxswain McMackin, Emily Backer (Cannelton, Ind.), Padley, Bunn and Nestor rowed in the morning race and finished with a time of 8:58.7, defeating the Spartans by 21 seconds. In the afternoon, the Irish crew of Louie, Alyssa Teves (Denver, Colo.), Backer, Casey Sullivan (Wilmette, Ill.) and McQuaid finished with a time of 9:06.5, again defeating the Spartans, who finished with a time of 9:21.8.

In the novice eight races, Notre Dame featured two boats each session. The Irish represented well winning three of the four races they were in, and finishing second of three in the other.

The first novice eight boat, crewed by coxswain Jimena DiIorio (Asuncion, Paraguay), Neva Lundy (Santa Monica, Calif.), Amanda Cosfol (Broomall, Pa.), Erika Shults (Virginia Beach, Va.), Mary Teresa DiSipio (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Katherine Linnemanstons (Milwaukee, Wis.), Stephanie Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill.), Christina Buckley (Huntington, N.Y.) and Genevieve Malone (Dayton, Ohio) finished second of three in the morning session race. Finishing in a time of 8:10.0, the Irish finished 5 seconds behind Michigan State’s time of 8:05.8, and 32 seconds ahead of Indiana’s boat with a time of 8:38.7. In the afternoon the Irish were able to win the race with a winning time of 8:11.3, beating Michigan State (8:17.8) and Indiana (8:42.5).

The second novice eight boat was able to win both races which they competed in on the day. The crew of coxswain Christy Le (Vietnam, Benson), Brianna Krafcik (Aurora, Ohio), Melissa Nolan (Dayton, Ohio), Elaine Amoresano (Ridgewood, N.J.), Cailey Ryckman (Wyandotte, Mich.), Casey Sullivan (Wilmette, Ill.), Shannon Kiernan (Glen Ridge, N.J.), Elise Smith (Summit, N.J.) and Paige White (Muenster, Tex.) were able to win the morning race with a time of 8:14.0 and the afternoon race with a time of 8:36.6, over the Spartans in both races. “I was a good day of racing for our novice boats and our third varsity four,” head coach Martin Stone says. “I thinkd the rest of our fours and our first and second varsity boats need to pick up some speed. The afternoon session went much better. We learned some things about our racing and made adjustments.”

-ND-