March 27, 2004
Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Notre Dame women’s rowing team turned in an impressive performance in a five-team regatta at Michigan on Saturday that featured seven races. The day’s competition for Notre Dame was highlighted by the Irish first varsity four boat finishing first and the first varsity eight crew taking second to No. 2 Michigan.
The first varsity four boat of Kathy Long (cox) and stroke Katie O’Hara, Danielle Stealy, Pam Jefson and Kristen Mizzi won its race by more than three seconds over Michigan State’s boat. The Irish finished with a time of 7:14.8, while the Spartans turned in a time of 7:17.2. Michigan took third in the race with a time of 7:19.9, while Clemson (7:36.1) was fourth and Eastern Michigan (8:02.00) fifth.
“This was a great race for our varsity four team,” head coach Martin Stone said. “I’m certainly very pleased with their performance. They beat four high-quality boats and have made substantial improvements since the season began.”
Stone was also had significant praise for his first varsity eight boat of Maureen Gibbons (cox), Natalie Ladine (stroke), Alice Bartek, Meghan Boyle, Rachel Polinski, Melissa Felker, Katie Chenoweth, Danielle Protasewich and Jacqueline Hazen. Notre Dame took second in the race with a time 6:25.0, less than five second behind Michigan’ boat which crossed the finish line in 6:19.2. Clemson was third in the race in 6:34.3, while Eastern Michigan took fourth with a time of 6:40.2.
“Our varsity eight had a great race,” Stone said. “We had the lead 1,000 meters into the race, but Michigan really pushed hard during the last half of the race. It’s a real credit to this group to finish less than five seconds behind their boat. We were unranked in the preseason rankings and they were ranked number two. I think that this race puts us in great position for next weekend’s competition in San Diego.”
Notre Dame did not perform as well in the second varsity eight race as the Irish crew of Kacy McCaffrey (cox), Jessica Guzik (stroke), Kathleen Welsh, Kati Sedun, Jenna Redgate, Elizabeth Specht, Andrea Doud, Ashley St. Pierre and Megan Sanders took third in 6:49.7, behind Michigan (6:35.0) and Clemson (6:48.0).
The second varsity four boat of Caitlin Rackish (cox), Kristen Hinkel (stroke), Meredith Thornburgh, Alyssa Close and Colleen Larson placed in 7:36.9, behind Michigan (7:17.3) and Michigan State (7:23.7).
Notre Dame had two boats in the third varsity four race. The Irish ‘A’ boat of Shannon Lettieri (cox), Sarah Keefer (cox), Ann Mulligan, Courtney Quinn and Tricia David took second in 7:39.8, finishing behind the Michigan boat, which won the race with a time of 7:30.0. Michigan State took third, while the novice four boat of Maria Romano (cox), Audrey deGuire (stroke), Alice Cooper, Samantha Glass and Kaitlin Sharkey placed fourth in 7:52.1
Notre Dame’s first novice eight boat of Eileen Froehlke (cox), Sarah Kate Hafner, Ariel Klingman, Shannon Cassel, Beth Hatch, Danielle Potts, Sarah Shaw, Meghan Chidsey and Colleen McCotter finished third with a time of 7:01.3, behind Michigan State (6:47.0), Clemson (6:51.2) and ahead of Michigan (7:10.3) and Eastern Michigan (7:35.8).
Notre Dame returns to action on April 3-4 at the San Diego Crew Classic in San Diego, Calif.
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