April 22, 2003
THIS WEEK: The Notre Dame women’s rowing team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., Tuesday night to race against 10th-ranked Michigan State in a make-up race after an April 12 meeting between the two schools was cancelled due to high winds. Race time Tuesday night is 6:00 p.m. eastern time at Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow Lake Park.
SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY: The following is the schedule of events for Tuesday’s races at Michigan State.
6:00 p.m. Varsity Eight
6:10 p.m. Second Novice Eight
6:20 p.m. Novice Eight
6:30 p.m. Second Varsity Four
6:40 p.m. Varsity Four
6:50 p.m. Second Varsity Eight
DIRECTIONS TO TUESDAY’S RACE: From East Lansing, Mich., take 127 north to Price Road. Turn right on Price Road and continue for approximately seven miles. Sleepy Hollow State Park is on the left-hand side of the road. Admission is $4, then proceed to the beach area.
THE CREWS FOR TUESDAY: Irish head coach Martin Stone will race the following crews against the Spartans:
First varsity eight – Cassie Markstahler (cox), Natalie Ladine (stroke), Ashlee Warren, Casey Buckstaff, Rachel Polinski,, Alice Bartek, Meghan Boyle, Katie Chenoweth, Danielle Protasewich
Second varsity eight – Kathryn Long (cox), Shannon Mohan (stroke), Kerri Murphy, Kathleen Welsh, Meredith Thornburgh, Kati Sedun, Devon Hegeman, Erica Drennen, Melissa Felker
Varsity four – Kacy McCaffrey (cox), Katie McCalden (stroke), Christy Donnelly, Katie O’Hara, Andrea Amoni
Second varsity four A –Maureen Gibbons (cox), Kristen Mizzi (stroke), Sarah Keefer, Kristen Henkel, Jacqueline Hazen
Second varsity four B –Rebecca Campbell (cox), Courtney Quinn (stroke), Antionette Duck, Megan Sanders, Ann Mulligan
Novice eight – Shannan Lettieri (cox), Pamela Jefson (stroke), Julie Lewis, Morgan Ertel, Danielle Stealy, Jenna Redgate, Sarah French, Andrea Doud, Catherine Schmidt
Second novice eight – Nicole Barczak (cox), Megan Sheehan (stroke), Meghan O’Neil, Nikki Karis, Fallon Shields, Laura Joyce, Marcia Luttio, Katie Hanafin, Rachel Kemp
ABOUT NOTRE DAME : Notre Dame, ranked No. 24 in the country, 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.
The varsity eight got back on the winning track last weekend after defeating Dayton by over 33 seconds on the St. Joseph River. The varsity eight has struggled somewhat this spring as head coach Martin Stone is trying to find the right combination of rowers for the shell. The Irish have narrowly lost to national powers Iowa and Michigan and suffered tough defeats to Clemson (by two seconds) and Tennessee. The Irish have defeated Indiana, Purdue, North Carolina and Dayton this season.
The second varsity eight has had a good spring as the crew has defeated Michigan and Iowa, as well as posting wins against Tennessee, Clemson, North Carolina, Dayton, Indiana and Purdue.
The fours have continued their success from the fall season as the first boat has defeated Michigan, Iowa and Tennessee among others, while the second four defeated Clemson and North Carolina by over 20 seconds.
The novice crews have also performed well this spring with wins over Michigan, Iowa and Dayton.
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE: In their sixth season as a varsity program, the Spartans are ranked at No. 10 this week in the US Rowing/CRCA poll. The Spartans rowed last Saturday (April 19) against No. 5 Michigan, No. 11 Ohio State and Indiana at the 2003 Big Ten Challenge in East Lansing.
The varsity eight had an impressive day as Michigan State finished first in both races. The Spartans posted a time of 6:31.92 over Ohio State’s 6:32.00 and a time of 6:34.33 compared to Indiana’s 7:00.10 in the second race. The second varsity eight also captured first place in both of its events for the day, posting a time of 6:44.02 against Ohio State (6:48.20) and 6:45.74 against Indiana (7:26.14). The varsity four finished in third place in both of its events behind Ohio State and Michigan, while the second varsity four, who also placed third in its morning race, was able to post a second-place finish in the afternoon.
MSU’s first novice eight boat also secured two first-place finishes for the Spartans, recording a time of 7:00.59 over Ohio State (7:01.89) and 7:05.62 above Indiana (7:18.35). The second novice eight boat finished at 7:19.67, behind Ohio State’s 7:14.61 in the morning, but was able to post a time of 7:25.94, less than a second ahead of Indiana’s 7:26.40 in it’s second race of the day.
LAST YEAR AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE: Michigan State and Notre Dame were supposed to compete in a dual regatta at Michigan State last spring, but the regatta was canceled due to weather conditions.
The teams did meet at Central Regions later in the spring. In the varsity eight finals, the Irish finished fourth, less than six seconds behind the third-place Spartans. In the second varsity eight race, Michigan State crossed the line in second place and Notre Dame, less than six seconds behind, in fifth. The Irish beat the Spartans in the novice eight race, placing third and fifth respectively.
Both teams competed again at NCAA Championships, with the Irish finishing the regular season ranked No. 14 and the Spartans No. 7. In the first varsity eight race at nationals, Michigan State finished 12th and Notre Dame 16th.
IRISH REWIND VS. DAYTON: Notre Dame swept all seven races April 13 in defeating Dayton in a dual regatta on the St. Joseph River. In the varsity eight, the Irish crew dominated its race against the Flyers finishing first in 6:59.00. Dayton was more than 33 seconds behind in 7:32.58. In the second varsity eight, the Irish crew was almost a minute ahead of the Flyers as Notre Dame crossed the line in 7:19.20. Dayton was second in 8:14.15. In the varsity four, Notre Dame won be over 36 seconds as the Irish finished in 8:14.30 compared to 8:50.97 for the Flyers.
The novice crews also did well for the Irish as the first novice eight won by almost 22 seconds. Notre Dame crossed the line in 7:37.30, while Dayton placed in second at 7:59.08. The Irish second novice eight posted the largest margin of victory defeating Dayton by over a minute. The crew finished in 8:04.90, while Dayton posted a time of 9:07.28.
IRISH IN THE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL POLLS: Notre Dame was ranked fifth as a team in the first regional rankings released last Tuesday. Michigan, who the Irish defeated in eight of 12 races earlier this spring is first, followed by Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and the Irish. In the first varsity eight, Notre Dame is tied with Minnesota for sixth in the region. Michigan is once again first as the top four positions are the same as the team rankings. Wisconsin is fifth in the first varsity eight rankings. In the second eight, Notre Dame is third, trailing only Michigan and Michigan State, while in the fours the Irish are fourth behind the Wolverines, Spartans and Buckeyes.
In the latest national poll, Notre Dame is ranked 24th receiving one vote. California is first, followed by Washington (Notre Dame’s opponent on May 3), Harvard and Stanford. Princeton and Michigan are tied for fifth. Notre Dame is facing its toughest schedule in history as the Irish have already rowed against ranked teams Michigan, Iowa and Tennessee and still have races against Washington, Ohio State, Washington State, Oregon State, Syracuse, West Virginia and Texas.
Regional Rankings For April 15, 2003
Teams
1. Michigan
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Iowa
5. Notre Dame
6. Wisconsin
First Eights
1. Michigan
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Iowa
5. Wisconsin
6. TIE – Notre Dame, Minnesota
Second Eights
1. Michigan
2. Michigan State
3. Notre Dame
4. Iowa
5. Ohio State
6. Wisconsin
Fours
1. Michigan
2. Michigan State
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
5. Iowa
6. Wisconsin
The following is the 2003 CRCA/US Rowing National Poll for April 15, 2003:
1. Cal-Berkeley
2. Washington
3. Harvard
4. Stanford
5t. Princeton
5t. Michigan
7. USC
8. Brown
9. Yale
10. Michigan State
11. Ohio State
12. Virginia
13. Washington State
14. Cornell
15. Oregon State
16. Iowa
17. Syracuse
18. Boston
19. Texas
20. Tennessee
Others receiving votes: Duke 16, Penn 11, George Washington 2, Notre Dame 1, West Virginia 1.
NOTRE DAME INVITED TO PRESTIGIOUS WINDERMERE CUP: Notre Dame has been invited to compete in the prestigious Windermere Cup May 3 in Seattle. The Irish varsity and second eight will help the University of Washington celebrate its 100th anniversary of rowing as the Windermere races are the feature event of the 34th annual Opening Day Regatta on Lake Washington’s Montlake Cut. The races are held in conjunction with the Seattle Yacht Club’s annual celebration of the opening of yachting season. The regatta is the preliminary event to the yacht club parade sponsored by the Seattle Yacht Club as thousands of spectators annually line the cut, both on land and water to enjoy the festivities.
Notre Dame’s varsity eight will compete against Washington and the Belarus national team in the women’s Windermere Cup race. Washington is the defending NCAA Champion in the varsity eight, while Belarus finished sixth at the 2003 World Championships.
The second varsity eight will also race in the women’s Cascade Cup, as the Irish will row against Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.
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.
UP NEXT: Notre Dame travels to Worcester, Mass., on Sunday, April 27, for the 2003 BIG EAST Rowing Challenge.