April 13, 2008
Indianapolis, Ind. – The Notre Dame rowing team was victorious in all six races it entered at the 2008 Indiana Invite, an annual regatta held at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. The Irish used a strong showing to pick up wins in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four, second varsity four, novice eight and second novice eight races.
The No. 16 varsity eight crew coxswain Kelsey Otero (Meqoun, Wis.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.) Kendra Short (Everett, Wash.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J) finished six seconds ahead of the field. Notre Dame posted a time of 6:25.0, followed by Indiana (6:31.0) and Purdue (6:39.4).
Notre Dame had two boats in the second varsity eight race. Notre Dame’s top second varsity eight 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.) earned a first-place finish with a time of 6:32.5, while Indiana was second in 6:49.0 and Purdue was third in 6:50.5. Notre Dame’s second boat in the race took fourth in 6:52.0. That crew was made up of coxswain Katherin McMackin (Chevy Chase. Md.), Andrea Archer (Redding, Conn.), Kaitlin Jackson (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Erica Castro-Larsen (Lake Matthews, Calif.) and Kellyn Nestor (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.).
Notre Dame swept the top two spots in the varsity four race. The winning crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Mallory Glass (Okemos, Mich.) crossed the finish line in 7:17.3, while the boat of coxswain Jimena DiIorio (Asuncion, Paraguay), Megan Keegan (Canton, Ohio), Katherine Linnemanstons (Milwaukee, Wis.), Genevieve Malone (Dayton, Ohio) and Christina Buckley (Huntington, N.Y.) took second in 7:33.5. Indiana finished third in 7:37.2, while Purdue was fourth in 7:55.2.
Notre Dame also finished first and second in the second varsity race as the crew of coxswain McMackin, Bunn, Casey Sullivan (Wilmette, Ill.), Castro-Larsen and McNamara registered a winning time of 7:29.2 in the three-boat race, while Rachel Louie (Summit, N.J.), Danielle Leary (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Jackson, Backer and Jedry posted a time of 7:37.5. Purdue finished third with a time of 8:13.0.
In the novice eight race, the crew of coxswain DiIorio, Amanda Cosfol (Broomall, Pa.), Erika Shults (Virginia Beach, Va.), Mary Teresa DiSipio (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Linnemanstons, Stephanie Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill.), Buckley and Malone edged out Indiana as the Irish took first in 6:48.3, while the Hoosiers were second in 6:50.4 and Purdue was third in 5:57.8.
The second novice eight crew of coxswain Christy Le (Vietnam), Brianna Krafcik (Aurora, Ill.), Cailey Ryckman (Wyandotte, Mich.), Kristen Andree (Bloomfield Village, Mich.), Neva Lundy (Santa Monica, Calif.), Elaine Amoresano (Ridgewood, N.J.), Shannon Kiernan (Glen Ridge, N.J.), Elise Smith (Summit, N.J.) and Paige White (Muenster, Ind.) rode to a winning time of 7:19.5, while Purdue A took second (7:34.2) and Purdue B was third in 7:53.4.
“I thought were rowed well today considering the less than ideal conditions as we battled the cold and strong winds,” head coach Martin Stone said. “We were coming off a very rigorous week of training and I thought the quality of performances were very good. One of goals when we started the week of training was to get everyone to race well and I think that we did that.
“We have a very tough weekend ahead of us next week in Boston and those will pose many tests and challenges for us.” Notre Dame returns to action next Saturday and Sunday when it travels to Boston, Mass., for the Charles River Challenge.