Notre Dame won four of five races on Sunday afternoon as the Irish concluded their spring break training in Tennessee.

Notre Dame Wns Four Of Five Races In Regatta Against Alabama and Cincinnati

March 18, 2007

Oak Ridge, Tenn. – Notre Dame closed out its 10-day spring break training in impressive fashion on Sunday as the Irish four of five races in a regatta against Alabama and Cincinnati. Notre Dame was victorious in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and novice eight races, while the second novice eight took second.

In the varsity eight race, the Notre Dame crew of coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.), Meghan Boyle (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 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 more than 18 second ahead of second-place Alabama. The Irish, ranked 11th nationally in the US Rowing/CRCA Poll, were clocked in 6:38.31, while Alabama finished in 6:56.52. Cincinnati took third with a time of 7:02.28, while Notre Dame’s third varsity eight boat of coxswain Christine Padayhag (Kwajalein, Marshall Islands), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.), Alyssa Teves (Denver, Colo.), Kaitlin Jackson (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Shannon Cassel (Bettendorf, Iowa), Brittany Burnham (Hilton Head, S.C.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Laura Petnuch (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.) were fourth in 7:09.77.

Notre Dame’s second varsity eight crew of coxswain Eileen Froehlke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Sarah Kate Hafner (Tampa, Fla.), Casey Fairbanks (Dandridge, Tenn.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Jessica Guzik (Annandale, Va.), Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.), Lindsay McQuaid (Beaverton, Ore.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.) and Elli Graybar (Western Springs, Ill.) were victorious in their race as they posted a time of 6:49.85. Cincinnati was second in 7:05.7, while Alabama took third in 7:20.92. The varsity four “A” boat of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.), Kaitlin Jackson (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Petnuch and McNamara crossed the finish line in 7:54.55, while the Notre Dame’s varsity four “B” boat of coxswain Kelsey Otero (Mequon, Wis.), Danielle Leary (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Copeland, Erica Castro-Larsen (Lake Matthews, Calif.) and Teves were second in 8:01.02, while Cincinnati was third in 8:30.13.

Notre Dame’s novice eight crew of coxswain AZ Tice (Woodsbury, Minn.), Lisa Bunn (Wilsonville, Ore.), Casey Sullivan (Wilmette, Ill.), Emily Backer (Cannelton, Ind.), Melissa Miller (Redding, Calif.), Kathleen Donahue (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Dana Gates (Peoria, Ill.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.) and Kellyn Nestor (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) won its fourth race of the weekend and remained undefeated as the it bested second-place Alabama by more than nine seconds. The Irish crossed the finish line in 7:04.22, while the Crimson Tide was second in 7:15.33 and Cincinnati was third in 7:38.88.

The second novice eight race was shortened by 500 meters as the Irish crew took second to Alabama. Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Katie DeMartini (San Mateo, Calif.), Demetria Hueth (Sea Girt, N.J.), Laura Burdick (Terre Haute, Ind.), Carolina Elizondo (Clarence, N.J.), Katie Motto (Columbia, S.C.), Elise Janowak (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Braegan Padley (Boise, Idaho), Katherine McMackin (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Andrea Archer (Redding, Conn.) finished with a time 7:22.89, while Alabama was first in 7:03.38.

“I thought we rowed better today,” head coach Martin Stone said. “We made some adjustments after seeing some things in Saturday races and we saw some improvement. We still need to work on some things, but it is very early in the season and we definitely have time to do that. We look forward to next weekend when we go up against two very good teams in Michigan and Michigan State.”

Notre Dame returns to action next on Sat., March 24 when the Irish travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on No. 14 Michigan State and No. 15 Michigan.