May 14, 2005
Oak Ridge, Tenn. – The Notre Dame rowing team turned in strong performances on the first day of competition at the Aramark Central/South Region Sprints at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with four of its five boats advancing to the Grand Finals on Sunday’s final day of competition. The Irish second varsity eight, varsity four, open four and novice eight all earned spots in tomorrow’s premier races, while Notre Dame’s varsity eight boat will row in the Petite Final.
“Today was certainly a great day for our program,” head coach Martin Stone said. “We did something that we have never done before at this competition by placing four boats in tomorrow’s Grand Finals. It was a collective team effort and I couldn’t be more proud of how we raced and the competitiveness we showed. We look forward to some strong results tomorrow.”
The Irish varsity eight crew of coxswain Maureen Gibbons (Langhorne, Pa.), sophomore Jessica Guzik (Annadale, Va.), senior Rachel Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio), freshman Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.), freshman Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), freshman Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), junior Melissa Felker (Bellevue, Wash.), senior Katie Chenoweth (East Lansing, Mich.) and junior Sarah Palandech (Lakenheath, United Kingdom) were placed in the third of four heats in their opening race. Notre Dame took third in 6:37.54, behind No. 7 Michigan (6:32.30) and No. 14 Wisconsin (6:33.82). Duke was fourth in 6:40.89, followed by Noth Carolina (6:56.71).
In their semifinal heat, Notre Dame was fifth in a closely contested race that was only separated by 12 seconds as the Irish posted a time of 6:42.71. No. 4 Ohio State crossed the finish line first in 6:30.10, followed by No. 11 Tennessee (6:31.1), No. 7 Michigan (6:37.79) and Louisville (6:40.95). Central Florida finished sixth in 6:46.40.
Notre Dame will go up against Indiana, Minnesota, Louisville, Iowa and Central Florida in Sunday’s Petite Final.
Notre Dame second varsity eight crew of sophomore coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), senior Meredith Thornburgh (Indianapolis, Ind.), freshman Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), senior Elizabeth Specht (Berkely, Calif.), sophomore Alyssa Close (South Dennis, Mass.), senior Devon Hegeman (Haddonfield, N.J.), junior Andrea Doud (Redford, Mich.), junior Pamela Jefson (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and sophomore Sarah Kate Hafner (Tampa, Fla.) enjoyed a strong day of competition. In their first race of the day — the first heat of four — they took second with a time of 6:48.64, eight seconds behind Virginia’s winning time of 6:40.20. Clemson was third in 6;54.60, followd by Kansas (6:58.26) and Kansas State (6:58.85).
In its second race of the day, the Irish took third in the first semifinal heat posting a time of 7:01.53, behind Ohio State (6:55.20) and Michigan (6;59.44). Texas was fourth in 7:04.41, followed by Duke (7:14.43) and Indiana (7:15.67).
In tomorrow’s Grand Final, Notre Dame will face Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Notre Dame’s varsity four crew of senior coxswain Caitlin Rackish (Williamsport, Pa.), senior Shannon Mohan (Naperville, Ill.), senior Kati Sedun (Lake Oswego, Ore.), freshman Casey Fairbanks (Dandridge, Tenn.) and freshman Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.) earned a second-place finish in the second of three heats as the Irish finished just over five seconds in back of Michigan State. Notre Dame posted a time of 7:39.22, while the Spartan boat was clocked in 7:33.50. Clemson took third in the race in 7:44.22, followed by Clemson (7:47.22), Texas (7:49.87), Central Florida (7:58.762) and Kansas State (8:21.57).
In its second race of the day, the Irish varsity four crew placed third in the first of two semifinal heats posting a time of 7:56.91, behind Virginia (7:42.80) and Michigan (7:56.91). Ohio State took third in 7;57.85, followed by Louisville (8:05.74) and Texas (8;13.66).
In addition to the Irish, the varsity four Grand Final will feature Wisconsin, Virgina, Michigan State, Michigan and Minnesota.
The open four crew junior coxswain Shannan Lettieri (Cairo, N.Y.), sophomore Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Ia.), junior Danielle Stealy (Culver, Ind.), sophomore Ashley St. Pierre (Kingston, N.H.) and senior Tricia Hale (Page, Ariz.) took third in its opening heat of the day with a time of 7:45.03, behind Iowa (7:36.20) and Texas (7:38.15). Cincinnati was fourth in the heat with a time 8:03.57, while Indiana was fifth in 8:06.22.
In the first of two repachage heats, the Irish were clocked in 8:15.73, just five seconds behind Virginia (8:10.40), as they finished second. Tennessee notched third in 8:26.00, followed by Cincinnati (8:50.74), Miami (9:11.46) and Duke (9:23.74).
Notre Dame will take on Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, Virginia and Texas in tomorrow’s Grand Final.
The Irish novice eight crew of freshman coxswain Christina Padayhag (Kwajalein, Marshall Islands) and freshmen Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Carolyn Sarb (Lisle, Ill.), Kathleen Linzmeier (Coto de Caza, Calif.), Colleen McGue (Hinsdale, Ill.) and sophomore Megan Marshall (South Bend, Ind.) took second in its opening heat of the morning with a time of 7:08.38, 10 seconds behind Michigan’s winning time of 6:58.50. Iowa was third (7:15.12), followed by Central Florida (7:18.67) and Duke (7:50.20).
Notre Dame also finished second in the first of the two repechage heats, less than two seconds behind Wisconsin. The Irish crossed the finish line in 7:25.12, while the Badgers were first in 7:23.70. Central Florida took third in the race in 7:30.23, followed by Cincinnati (7:32.79) and Kansas State (7:51.40).
Notre Dame is slated to face Clemson, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa in tomorrow’s novice eight Grand Final.