May 12, 2007
Oak Ridge, Tenn. – Notre Dame placed three of its five boats in the Sunday grand finals of the 2007 Aramark Central/South Region Sprints. The Irish varsity eight, varsity four and novice eight boats all advanced to grand final competition tomorrow, while the second varsity eight and open four crews will be racing in the petite finals.
This weekend’s races on being held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., site of the ’07 NCAA Championships that will take place in two weeks. Notre Dame’s varsity eight boat will be looking to defend the gold medal it won a year ago at the 2006 Championships.
“I think our kids did a great job today and we’re happy to have two of three NCAA boats (varsity eight and varsity four) in tomorrow’s grand finals. “This weekend’s competition certainly speaks to the parity of women’s rowing. These races get tougher and tougher every year and this is certainly one of the premier championships of the racing season.
“I was happy with the performance of our second varsity eight boat today and I felt that they raced better in each of their two races. I look forward to them racing well in tomorrow’s Petite Final.
Notre Dame’s varsity eight crew, ranked third nationally, advanced to Sunday’s final after finishing third in its semifinal race on Saturday afternoon and second in the morning prelims. Heading into Saturday morning’s races, the Irish varsity eight boat had won six consecutive races. The boat of coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh, Calif.), 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 6:54.68 in the semifinals, behind No. 5 Virginia (6:47.50) and No. 12 Ohio State (6:52.22). Wisconsin took fourth in the race with a time of 7:01.81, followed by Duke (7:03.41) and Clemson (7:08.85).
In the morning’s prelims, the Irish took second in their heat to No. 17 Tennessee. The Irish posted a time of 6:42.51, while the Lady Vols finished in 6:36.60. No. 19 Louisville was third in 6:47.09, followed by Kansas (6:51.95) and Indiana (6:57.48).
In addition to Notre Dame, Tennessee, Virginia, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 11 Central Florida all advanced to tomorrow’s Grand Final.
The varsity four boat earned an appearance in the Grand Final after finishing second in its semifinal heat to Virginia, which posted a winning time of 7:40.80. The Irish crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.), Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.) crossed the finish line in 7:49.41, followed by Ohio State (7:51.29), Michigan (7:54.15), Kansas (8:02.26) and Central Florida (8:06.11). Notre Dame won its preliminary heat with a time of 7:38.00, five seconds ahead of Michigan State (7:43.13). Kansas took third in 7:48.02, followed by Indiana (8:00.70).
In tomorrow’s Grand Final, the Irish will go up against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Virginia, Minnesota and Tennessee.
The novice eight boat of coxswain AZ Tice (Woodsbury, Minn.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Casey Sullivan (Wilmettte, Ill.), Emily Backer (Cannelton, Ind.), Breagan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Kathleen Donahue (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dana Gates (Peoria, Ill.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.) and Kellyn Nestor (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) also earned a spot in the Grand Finals with strong performances in its semifinal and preliminary races. The Irish were third in their semifinal heat as they finished in 7:16.94. Kansas State took first in 7:08.90 and Michigan was second in 7:10.04. Clemson’s A boat finished fourth in 7:22.74, followed by Iowa (7:28.99) and Ohio State (7:29.28).
In the prelims, the posted a time of 7:17.87 to take second place, nine seconds in back of Michigan State’s winning time of 7:08.20. Tennessee A finished third in 7:24.08, followed by Duke (7:28.66), North Carolina B (7:57.44) and Clemson B (8:02.57).
In Sunday’s Grand Final, the Irish will go up against Michigan State, Michigan, Virginia, Kansas State and Wisconsin.
Notre Dame’s second varsity eight crew of coxswain Eileen Froehlke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Anni Nowhitney (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Mallory Glass (Okemos, Mich.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), Jessica Guzik (Annandale, Va.), Elli Greybar (Western Springs, Ill.) and Sarah Kate Hafner (Tampa, Fla.) earned a spot in Sunday’s Petite Final. The Irish were fifth in the their semifinal heat with a time of 7:06.63, behind Minnesota (6:55.60), Tennessee (6:59.29), Louisville (7:00.68) and Michigan (7:03.43). Clemson finished sixth with a time of 7:20.11.
Earlier in the day, Notre Dame’s second varsity eight boat took third in its opening race as it posted a time of 6:56.79. Ohio State won the race in 6:50.50 and was followed by Michigan that finished with a time of 6:53.01. Iowa was fourth in the heat in 7:00.52 and Cincinnati was fifth in 7:17.25.
In Sunday’s Petite Final the Irish will face Central Florida, Ohio State, Michigan, Duke and Clemson.
The open four crew of of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Alyssa Teves (Denver, Colo.), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.), Erica Castro-Larsen (Lake Matthews, Calif.) and Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.) earned also earned a spot in the Petite Final. The Irish were fifth in their semifinal heat as they crossed the finish line in 8:40.29. The race was won by Virginia’s B boat in 8:14.40, followed by Tennessee (8:22.37), Michigan (8:25.54) and Indiana (8:36.60). Ohio State was sixth in the race in 8:44.38.
In its preliminary heat, Notre Dame was third in 8:09.78, behind Virginia A (7:50.70) and Ohio State (8:06.59). Kansas was fourth in 8:19.36, followed by Murray State (8:32.44) and North Carolina (8:49.46).
The Irish will face Ohio State, Texas, Indiana, Central Florida and Kansas in tomorrow’s Petite Final.