May 25, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Stephanie Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill.), Kelsey Haddad (Berwyn, Pa.), Sarah McShane (South Bend, Ind.), Abby Meyers (Dayton, Ohio), Kathryn Monahan (Evanston, Ill.), Joanna Poinsatte (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Danni Schneider (Mound, Minn.) have all been named 2010-11 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Scholar Athletes. Gretsch, along with Carol Ann Michel (Princeton, N.J.), also have been named CRCA all-central region selections.
In order to be eligible for the CRCA National Scholar Athlete team, each of the award recipients must have taken part in at least two seasons as a member of the team while also maintaining a 3.5 GPA in the classroom as well. They also must have rowed in at least 75 percent of all races as a member of one of the varsity boats.
For a rower to be eligible for all-region recognition, each of the awarded recipients are evaluated on the strength of the team’s regional finish, coaches recommendation and their individual 2,000-meter erg score. Much the same as the Scholar Athlete award, the rower also must have rowed in at least 75 percent of all races as a member of one of the varsity boats. Being named to an all-region team also makes the rower eligible for All-America awards selection following the NCAA Rowing Championships.
Overall, the Irish have had 49 rowers receive CRCA National Scholar Athlete Award, including at least five making the list in four of the past five years, since the programs inception in 1998. Gretsch joins Katie Chenowith, Lauren Buck, Erica Copeland, Christine Trezza, Natalie Ladine, Sarah Keithley and Katherine Burnett as the only rowers to receive the award on three separate occasions for the Irish.
The Irish have had 27 rowers named to the all-central regional team, with this year being the first since ’08 that two members have been selected in the same season.
Gretsch, a two-year member of the Irish varsity eight boat, was named a CRCA National Scholar Athlete for the third consecutive season. Over her career she has helped the varsity four and varsity eight boat to back-to-back gold medals at the BIG EAST Championships in ’09 and ’10. Along with earning a spot on the CRCA National Scholar Athlete list, Gretsch also has been named a second team all-central region selection; marking the second straight year she has received the honor after being named a first team selection in ’10. She becomes the first multi-year selection for the Irish since Amanda Polk copped the honor four consecutive years from ’05 through ’08.
The remaining six Irish rowers named to the CRCA National Scholar Athlete team are all first time selections with each being in their first year of eligibility for the award. Meyers served as the coxswain for the runner-up varsity eight boat at the BIG EAST Championship, while Haddad and Poinsatte were part of the gold medal second varsity eight boat. McShane, Monahan and Schneider, meanwhile, jumped between several boats on the season. McShane and Monahan split time between the third varsity eight boat and open four boat, while Schneider coxed each of the second varsity four and open four boats for much of the season.
Michel earned first team all-central region billing for the first time in her career, in this her final season with the Irish and first as team captain. After rowing the past two seasons with the second varsity eight boat, Michel made the jump to the varsity eight boat for her final season, helping it to a runner-up result at the BIG EAST Championships and a grand final berth at the Oak Ridge Regional to conclude the season.
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