March 11, 2003
THIS WEEK: The Notre Dame women’s rowing team begins the spring season with two dual regattas as part of its spring break training trip in Knoxville, Tenn. The Irish row against South-region powers Clemson and North Carolina on Wednesday, March 12, on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C., before returning to Knoxville for a dual regatta versus Tennessee on Saturday, March 15 at Lake Lanier. Meet time Wednesday is 3:20 p.m. EST and Saturday is 10:00 a.m. CST.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY: Notre Dame will compete in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four, second varsity four, second novice four and novice eight races against Clemson and North Carolina. The regatta is scheduled to begin at 3:20 p.m. with the second varsity four.
Notre Dame vs. Clemson and North Carolina Schedule
3:20 p.m. Second Varsity Four
3:40 p.m. Varsity Four
4:00 p.m. Second Novice Eight
4:20 p.m. Novice Eight
4:40 p.m. Second Varsity Eight
5:00 p.m. Varsity Eight
Notre Dame’s regatta versus Tennessee will begin at 10:00 a.m. CST. The order of races will be determined later in the week.
THE CREWS FOR THE WEEK: Irish head coach Martin Stone is still working on his crews for Wednesday and Saturday as they will be race-time decisions.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame is looking to build upon its success during the 2002 season in which the varsity eight qualified for the NCAA Championships, hoping the whole team will be invited to the 2003 regatta.
Notre Dame took advantage of the fall season by trying some new boating combinations and getting the younger rowers some experience in preparation for the spring season.
The Irish opened the fall season by taking two of the top four positions in the varsity eight race at the Milwaukee River Challenge in Milwaukee, Wis.
Notre Dame then returned home for a two-day regatta versus Kansas where the Irish took two of the top three positions in the varsity four race and finished 1-2-3 in the varsity eight. The Irish continued their successful fall season at the Head of the Ohio as they won two races, including the open four and the club four. The Irish also were fourth in the open eight and took third through sixth places in the pairs race.
The Irish varsity team closed out its fall season by taking third, fifth and seventh in the open eight race, while the fours were first and third at the Head of the Rock Regatta in Rockford, Ill. The next week, Notre Dame’s varsity four and varsity pair placed third, while the novice eight was fourth at the Head of the Grand on the Grand River in East Lansing, Mich.
ABOUT CLEMSON: Clemson returns 30 student-athletes to its roster, in addition to 40 novices after finishing the 2002 season ranked 22nd in the nation, their second consecutive top 25 ranking. At last season’s South Region Championship, the Tigers earned the team title when the Varsity 4+, Novice 8+, and Second Varsity 8+ won gold medals in their events.
The Tigers also had a successful fall season as well. The varsity eight traveled to the Head of the Charles and finished 27th (17:48.8). Next, the Tigers traveled to Gainsville, Ga., to defend their title as Head of the Hooch champions. The Novice 8+ claimed first (20:30.1), while in the championship eight final, Clemson finished fifth (18:26.7) and 10th (19:17.2). The fall season concluded with the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, Va., as the Tigers raced a total of nine boats in three races against Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio State and William & Mary. In the highest finish of the day, the novice eight boats took second (13:51.2), fifth (16:16.4) and seventh (16:29.7) and the varsity eight boats placed third (13:51.2) and eighth (14:43.4) in their races.
Clemson then opened the spring season with a dual regatta against Michigan State last Saturday. The Tigers finished first in the second varsity four, second novice eight, and novice eight, while falling to the Spartans in the novice four, varsity four, second varsity eight and the varsity eight. For its efforts, the Tigers’ novice eight was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Crew of the Week.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA: After a disappointing season in 2002, new head coach Sarah Haney looks to improve the fortunes of the Tar Heels. Haney was a member of the club program at North Carolina and is a 1998 graduate of the UNC. North Carolina opened its spring season by playing host to a dual regatta against Duke at the Carolina Dash. The Blue Devils swept the day’s races as the varsity eight and the second varsity eight won by over seven seconds.
ABOUT TENNESSEE: Head coach Lisa Glenn has big expectations for the Lady Vols this season. After fall success at the Head of the Charles, where the varsity eight was 25th, Tennessee traveled to the Head of the Chattahoochee and placed third behind two crews from the Canadian National Team. Tennessee did defeat Duke and Clemson in that regatta.
Saturday’s race against the Irish will be Tennessee’s first event of the spring season.
HISTORY VERSUS THE THREE SCHOOLS: Notre Dame has never faced Clemson or North Carolina in a tri-regatta setting and is making its first trip to Clemson, S.C. The Irish did face off against Clemson at the Central/South Regions Sprints in Oak Ridge, Tenn., last season.
Notre Dame traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., last year for a dual regatta against the Lady Vols. Notre Dame took four of five races as the varsity eight won by over 15 seconds. The second eight won by seven seconds, while the novice eight was a 14-second winner and the second novice eight won by 12 seconds. The only crew that did not win was the third varsity eight, which lost by 20 seconds.
HEAD COACH MARTIN STONE: Head coach Martin Stone is in his fifth season at the helm of the Irish. Stone has brought instant credibility to this young program as the Irish qualified the varsity eight for the NCAA Championships in only the fourth year of the program, where it placed 16th. The Irish finished the 2002 season ranked 13th nationally and were ranked as high as ninth, its highest rankings in Irish history. The Irish boasted its first Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-American in 2002 as Ashlee Warren received second-team honors, while four women earned all-Central Region honors and six were named CRCA National Scholar-Athletes. Notre Dame also achieved its ninth and 10th consecutive semesters of a 3.2 overall team grade-point average.
STONE NAMED 2002 NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Martin Stone joined elite company in 2002 as he was named one of six finalist for CRCA National Coach of the Year honors. Stone joined Stanford’s Aimee Baker, Washington’s Jan Harville, Brown’s John Murphy, California’s Dave O’Neill and Yale’s Will Porter as finalists. Harville was the eventual winner of the award.
HISTORY LESSON: Notre Dame rowing, in only its fifth season, was granted varsity status in 1996, making it the 26th varsity sport at the University. Martin Stone was hired in ’97 as the first head coach and the Irish competed in their first regatta in 1998.
SPRING SEASON OUTLOOK: Notre Dame head coach Martin Stone and his Irish rowing squad are looking to build on the success of last season in hopes of qualifying the entire team for the 2003 NCAA Rowing Championships. After entering the varsity eight at last year’s NCAA meet (where it finished 16th) and landing at 13th in the final preseason poll, the rowing community is starting to take notice of this upstart Irish program.
The Irish will have to work even harder to get back to the premier level they achieved last season. First and foremost, Notre Dame will have to replace the likes of first boaters Michelle Olsgard and Katherine Burnett. Olsgard, a team captain, earned her second consecutive first-team all-Central Region honor in 2002 and posted the third-fastest erg score on the team. Burnett, a three-year member of the first eight, earned second-team all-region honors and was a three-time National Scholar-Athlete awardwinner.
Stone will turn to senior Ashlee Warren, who became the first Irish rower to earn All-America honors, and junior Natalie Ladine, who was a second-team all-region honoree in 2002 and had the fastest erg score on the Irish last season. Also back is senior coxswain Cassie Markstahler who did an excellent job for the Irish in 2002 and will provide additional leadership to the younger rowers.
Others returning to the roster this season who will have a chance at the top boat this year are senior captain Casey Buckstaff, senior Erica Drennen, juniors Alice Bartek, who broke the Notre Dame 2,000-meter erg record this spring, Jacqueline Hazen, Danielle Protasewich and Kathleen Welsh, sophomores Katie Chenoweth, Rachel Polinski, Meredith Thornburgh and Shannon Mohan and freshmen Meghan Boyle and Melissa Felker.
FALL REVIEW: Notre Dame took advantage of the fall season by trying some new boating combinations and getting the younger rowers some experience in preparation for the spring season.
The Irish opened the fall season by taking two of the top four positions in the varsity eight race at the Milwaukee River Challenge in Milwaukee, Wis.
Notre Dame then returned home for a two-day regatta versus Kansas where the Irish took two of the top three positions in the varsity four race and finished 1-2-3 in the varsity eight. The Irish continued their successful fall season at the Head of the Ohio as they won two races, including the open four and the club four. The Irish also were fourth in the open eight and took third through sixth places in the pairs race.
The Irish varsity team closed out its fall season by taking third, fifth and seventh in the open eight race, while the fours were first and third at the Head of the Rock Regatta in Rockford, Ill. The next week, Notre Dame’s varsity four and varsity pair placed third, while the novice eight was fourth at the Head of the Grand on the Grand River in East Lansing, Mich.
THE SPRING SCHEDULE: Notre Dame has upgraded its schedule in 2003, facing many of the nation’s top teams. After facing Clemson, North Carolina and Tennessee this week, Notre Dame then goes to Ann Arbor, Mich., on March 22, for a race against national-power Michigan. The Wolverines were ranked in the top five for much of the 2002 season and finished eighth in the team competition at the 2002 NCAA meet.
Notre Dame travels to West Lafayette, Ind., on March 30, for the Indiana Classic. The Irish have two more dual regattas as they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to face powerhouse Iowa on April 6, before heading to East Lansing, Mich., for a date with Michigan State on April 12. Michigan State had an impressive NCAA regatta in 2002 by finishing ninth in the team competition and is one of the top programs in the nation in 2003, while Iowa was ranked in the top five at the end of the 2001 season.
The Irish finally return home for their only dual regatta in South Bend as they play host to Dayton on April 13. Notre Dame then has two weeks off before heading to Worchester, Mass., for the BIG EAST Rowing Challenge. Notre Dame finished second at the 2002 Challenge and is looking to unseat defending champion Syracuse at this year’s regatta. After the BIG EAST meet, Notre Dame will go to Seattle for the Windermere Cup on May 3. Scheduled to race in Seattle are defending national champion Washington in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four competition and the Polish under-23 national team in the varsity eight.
Next the Irish head to Oak Ridge, Tenn., on May 17-18, for the Central Regions, a meet which has huge implications on the NCAA Championship meet. Last season, four teams competing in the Central Region regatta received invitations to the NCAA meet. The Irish placed fourth in the team competition, while the varsity eighth was also fourth. The NCAA Championships scheduled for May 30-June 1 in Indianapolis, Ind., conclude the 2003 season.
THE CAPTAINS: Seniors Casey Buckstaff and Ashlee Warren have been voted as team captains for the 2002-03 season. Buckstaff rowed in the first eight as a sophomore before missing her junior season studying abroad in London. She is a leading contender for a spot in the first eight in 2003. Warren became the first Irish rower to earn All-America honors in 2002 and will once again lead the eight in 2003. She also has been a CRCA National Scholar-Athlete awardwinner in her career.
WARREN NAMED 2002-03 BIG EAST SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Senior Ashlee Warren was named the 2002-03 BIG EAST/A?ropostal? Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Notre Dame. She becomes the first Irish rower to earn the honor and was the only rower from any BIG EAST school to win the award in 2003. Warren will receive a $2,000 scholarship for future postgraduate studies as she will attend medical school in the fall. Warren has a 3.47 grade-point average in pre-med/anthropology.
ALICE BARTEK SETS NEW NOTRE DAME RECORD ON ERG: Sophomore Alice Bartek, who was a member of the novice roster in 2001-02, set a new Notre Dame record on the erg for 2,000 meters last week. Bartek posted a time of 7:06.00 breaking the old record of 7:11.10 set by Natalie Ladine in 2002. Overall, four women went lower than the previous record as Ladine, Ashlee Warren and freshman Meghan Boyle all recorded faster times last week.
UP NEXT: Notre Dame will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday, March 22, for a dual regatta against national power Michigan.