April 19, 2008
Boston, Mass. – The Irish rowing team competed at the Charles River Challenge and had three wins in 10 races overall on the first day of competition. The varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four won all three of its races in the morning session against Northeastern, while the varsity four and second varsity four crews were victorious in the afternoon’s five races.
The No. 17 varsity eight crew of coxswain Kelsey Otero (Meqoun, Wis.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.) Kendra Short (Everett, Wash.), 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) went up against Northeastern in its first race of the day and bested the Huskies by nearly five seconds with a winning time of 6:25.80. Northeastern finished with a time of 6:30.20
In going up against Radcliffe and Dartmouth in the afternoon session, Notre Dame finished third with a time of 6:30.38. Radcliffe posted a winning time of 6:23.10 and Dartmouth finished in 6:28.24.
Notre Dame’s second varsity crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.), 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.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.), and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.) also rowed against Northeastern and rowed an impressive race as the Irish crossed the finish line in 6:37.60, more than 20 seconds better than Northeastern’s time of 6:57.69.
In the afternoon session, Radcliffe, in one of day’s most exciting races, edged out Notre Dame. The Irish finished with a time of 6:35.64, while Radcliffe took the top spot in 6:34.60. Dartmouth was not far behind Notre Dame as the Big Green crew posted a time of 6:38.31.
The varsity four crew coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Mallory Glass (Okemos, Mich.) rowed to an impressive victory as they finished with a time of 7:26.40, while Northeastern posted a time of 7:39.20.
The crew came back in the afternoon to post another impressive victory. In a thrilling race, the Irish edged out Radcliffe by .63 seconds as Notre Dame finished with a time of 7:24.00. Racliffe was clocked in 7:24.63, while Dartmouth took third in 7:38.30.
In the first race of the day for the second varsity four boat, the Irish crew of Katherine McMackin (Chevy Chase, Md.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Erica Castro-Larsen (Lake Matthews, Calif.) went up against Brown and Boston University in their race. Notre Dame took second in the race with a time of 7:31.19, while Brown was first in 7:25.20 and Boston University was third in 8:00.51. In its afternoon race, the second varsity eight crew topped Dartmouth, Boston University and Radcliffe. The Irish won the race in 7:36.00, edging out Dartmouth that posted a time of 7:37.00. Boston University was third in 7:56.88, while Radcliffe was fourth in 8:00.64.
The novice eight boat of Jimena DiIorio (Asuncion, Paraguay), Amanda Cosfol (Broomall, Pa.), Megan Keegan (Canton, Ohio), Erika Shults (Virginia Beach, Va.), Mary Theresa DiSipio (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Katherine Linnenmanstons (Milwaukee, Wis.), Stephanie Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill.), Christina Buckley (Huntington, N.Y.) and Genevieve Malone (Dayton, Ohio) took second in its opening race to Brown. The Bears posted a time of 6:35.20, while the Irish crossed the finish line in 6:55.10. Northeastern took third in 7:10.15, while Boston University was fourth in 7:11.61.
In the afternoon session of racing, the Irish faced a very competitive field as they went up against Radcliffe and Dartmouth. Notre Dame took third in the three-boat race by finishing with a time of 7:09.15.
Radcliffe won the race in 6:50.40, while Dartmouth took second in 6:58.51. “We raced well considering the afternoon conditions,” head coach Martin Stone said. “The second varsity four crew raced a phenomenal race in the afternoon as did our varsity four crew which picked up two victories this afternoon. We are looking forward to finishing up strong tomorrow and having a good day of racing.”