May 10, 2000
THIS WEEK: The Notre Dame women’s rowing team travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., Saturday-Sunday, May 13-14, for the Lexus Central Sprints. The races will take place beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Melton Hill Lake.
ABOUT THE LEXUS CENTRAL SPRINTS: Notre Dame will compete with Barry, Clemson, Creighton, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Murray State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas and Tulsa at the Lexus Central Sprints. The schedule of events is as follows: 9:00 a.m. Second Varsity Four
9:30 a.m. First Varsity Four
10:00 a.m. First Novice Eight
10:45 a.m. Second Varsity Eight
11:15 a.m. First Varsity Eight
2:30 p.m. First Novice Eight Semifinals
3:00 p.m. Second Varsity Eight Semifinals
3:30 p.m. First Varsity Eight Semifinals
4:00 p.m. First Novice Eight “C” Finals
4:15 p.m. Second Varsity Eight “C” Finals
4:30 p.m. First Varsity Eight “C” Finals
Sunday’s races begin at 9 a.m. with the petite final of the Second Varsity Four. Sunday’s race schedule includes: 9:00 a.m. Petite Final Second Varsity Four
9:10 a.m. Grand Final Second Varsity Four
9:20 a.m. Petite Final First Varsity Four
9:30 a.m. Grand Final First Varsity Four
9:50 a.m. Grand Final Second Novice Eight
10:00 a.m. Petite Final First Novice Eight
10:10 a.m. Grand Final First Novice Eight
10:20 a.m. Petite Final Second Varsity Eight
10:30 a.m. Grand Final Second Varsity Eight
10:40 a.m. Petite Final First Varsity Eight
10:50 a.m. Grand Final First Varsity Eight
THE LINEUPS: Head coach Martin Stone has established a consistent lineup for his boats this season using the same varsity lineups the last three races. The lineup for this weekend’s races are the following: Varsity Eight: Claire Bula (cox), Michelle Olsgard, Courtney Mercer, Kristen Vandehey, Katrina Ten Eyck, Lauren Lyons, Amy Braun, Katie Besson, Katherine Burnett Second Varsity Eight: Erin Kiernicki (cox), Megan Feely, Kerri Murphy, Maureen Carr, Elizabeth Nerney, Emily Deye, Allison Bartsh, Joslyn Moreau, Leah Ashe Varsity Four: Cassie Markstahler (cox), Kolleen Myers, Cassie Stuart, Sandra Peterson, Mary Lampe Second Varsity Four: Cynthia Lee (cox), Melissa Slavin, Becky Campbell, Kelly Mahaney, Kelly Malloy Novice Eight: Cassandra Murphy (cox), Ann Marie Dillhoff, Ashlee Warren, Becky Luckett, Casey Buckstaff, Julia Kelly, Beth Fruzynski, Elizabeth Jeub, Erica Drennan Second Novice Eight: Pamela Swan (cox), Kathyrn Anderson, Andrea Amoni, Katherine McCauldren, Megan McPherson, Ann Gurucharri, Laura Aull, Sarah Dreznes, Erin Shea
IRISH REWIND: The Irish traveled to Annapolis, Md., and Washington D.C., two weeks ago to race against Navy and the Georgetown Invitational, respectively. The Irish struggled in Annapolis, as it finished behind the Naval Academy in every race. In the Varsity Eight race, Navy defeated the Irish by almost 16 seconds, finishing first in 6:34.85. The closest race of the day was the Varsity Four race with Navy only beating Notre Dame by less than four seconds. Navy also claimed the Second Varsity Eight and the Novice Eight races.
At the Georgetown Invitational which featured all of the BIG EAST schools that sponsor rowing, the Second Novice Eight boat of Pamela Swan, Andrea Amoni, Katherine McCauldren, Laura Aull, Ann Gurucharri, Megan McPherson and Kathyrn Anderson placed first today, while the First Novice Eight and the Varsity Four placed second at the Georgetown Invitational on the waters of the Potomac River in Washington D.C.
The First Novice Eight crew of Erica Drennan, Beth Fruzynski, Elizabeth Jeub, Julia Kelly, Casey Buckstaff, Becky Luckett, Ashlee Warren, Ann Marie Dillhoff and Cassandra Murphy placed second to Rutgers in the grand final, while the Varsity Four boat of Cassie Markstahler, Kolleen Myers, Kassie Stuart, Mary Lampe and Sandra Peterson finished second to Syracuse in its final heat.
In the varsity races, the First Varsity Eight boat of Claire Bula, Michelle Olsgard, Courtney Mercer, Kristen Vandehey, Katrina Ten Eyck, Lauren Lyons, Amy Braun, Katherine Burnett and Katie Besson did not advance to the finals, as it finished third to Miami and Boston College in its preliminary heat. The Second Varsity Eight crew of Erin Kiernicki, Megan Feely, Kerri Murphy, Maureen Carr, Elizabeth Nerney, Emily Deye, Allison Bartsh, Joslyn Moreau and Leah Ashe placed third in its race behind Syracuse and Miami.
HISTORY LESSON: Notre Dame rowing, in only its second 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. Last season, in the first full year of competition, Notre Dame rowed against a tough schedule, including the prestigious Georgetown Invitational and Midwest Championships, gaining valuable experience. The lightweight eight boat had a great year and finished the season ranked 12th in the nation.
KATRINA TEN EYCK NAMED TO U.S. ROWING TRAINING CENTER: Senior Katrina Ten Eyck (Keystone, S.D.) has been officially invited to the 2000 U.S. Rowing ARCO Training Center Camp in San Diego, Calif., from Thursday, June 1 through Saturday, June 17, to train with fellow collegians, as announced by Ashlee Patten, assistant rowing coach for the U.S. Women’s National Rowing Team. All invitees to the U.S Training Camp will be candidates for the 2000 U.S Nation’s Cup Team and for further training at the ARCO Training Center in the fall of 2000. The Nation’s Cup, which takes place from July 27-30 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the top international competition for rowers under the age of 23. Most of the athletes competing at the Nation’s Cup are still developing their rowing skills and are training for future Olympic games. Ten Eyck, a team captain, has rowed in the No. 5 seat in the varsity eight boat for the Irish in every race in 2000. She was named the Irish’s most valuable rower this season and is a candidate for all-region honors after posting Notre Dame records in both the 2,000- and 4,000-meter ergometer test. Ten Eyck posted a 2,000-erg time of 7:06.00 on March 1, 2000.
TEN EYCK FILLING HER TROPHY CASE WITH KANALEY AWARD AMONG OTHERS: Katrina Ten Eyck, a team captain, has added a lot of hardware to her trophy case in the past month. She was one of five Irish athletes to receive the Byron Kanaley Award, Notre Dame’s most prestigious award, given to the student-athlete who have been most exemplary as both students and leaders. Ten Eyck was also named team MVP and the Knute Rockne Scholar Athlete winner at the 2000 All-Sport Banquet last week. She is also waiting to hear if she has been named to the all-region rowing team and the GTE Academic All-District team.
LEAH ASHE NAMED TOP SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Junior Leah Ashe was named the top rowing scholar-athlete April 4, at the Academic Excellence Awards Dinner held at the Joyce Center. Ashe has raced in the bow seat of the Second Varsity Eight boat all season. Also, freshmen Kathryn Anderson and Cassandra Murphy were cited for having the highest cumulative grade-point averages among first-year students. Senior Katrina Ten Eyck was also honored for having a perfect 4.0 GPA during the spring semester in 1999.
THE FALL SEASON: The Irish are coming off a solid fall season in which they competed in two regattas. At the Head of the Rock Regatta in Rockford, Ill., Notre Dame was paced by the lightweight four and lightweight eight teams as they both notched third-place finishes. Also, the Irish finished fourth in the open-four race. The rowing team collected even better results at the Head of the Elk Regatta in Elkhart, Ind. Notre Dame’s novice eight and lightweight four boats both took gold medals. Also the women’s open four placed second in both the “A” and the “B” races, while the women’s open eight registered a season-best time.
NOTRE DAME PLAYS HOST TO FIRST VARSITY REGATTA: The Irish competed in their first home varsity regatta Saturday, March 25, against Louisville and Indiana at Margaret Prickett Park in Mishawaka, Ind. Notre Dame was victorious in two of the four races they competed in, winning the Varsity Four and the Varsity Eight. The Irish also placed second in both the First Novice Eight and the Second Novice Eight with times of 6:46.70 and 7:27.20, respectively.
THE POLLS: The Irish lightweight eight boat was ranked 14th in the country in the preseason Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing Collegiate Coaches poll, while the open eight boat was unranked in the opening tally. Notre Dame is not racing a lightweight eight boat this season and was unranked in the second poll of the year, released April 5. As of the poll released May 2, Washington is ranked first in the varsity eight boat, while Wisconsin is first in the lightweight eight boat.
UP NEXT: The Irish will have to wait and see on Tuesday, May 16, if they qualify for the 2000 NCAA Rowing Championships held Friday-Sunday, May 26-28, in Camden, N.J.