March 12, 2005
Knoxville, Tenn. – After three races, Notre Dame’s first regatta of the spring season was cancelled due to strong winds and unsafe water conditions.
The varsity eight, novice eight and varsity four crews all raced before the coaches from Notre Dame, Tennesee and Michigan State decided to cancel the remainder of the meet.
The varsity eight race featured three of the nation’s top crews. The Irish were ranked 16th in the US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), while the Lady Vols were 10th and Spartans were 11th in the preseason poll released this week.
In the varsity eight race, Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Maureen Gibbons (Langhorne, Pa.), Sarah Palandech (Lakenheath, United Kingdom), Katie Chenoweth (East Lansing, Mich.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.), Jessa Guzik (Annandale, Va.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Va.), Melissa Felker (Bellevue, Wash.) and Rachel Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) finished third with a time of 5:32.15. Tennessee won the race in 5:10.33, while Michigan State crossed the finish line in 5:32.15.
“The weather today certainly did not provide ideal rowing conditions,” Irish head coach Martin Stone said. “Tennessee got out strong and opened up a big lead on the field, while Michigan State pulled away in the final 500 meters of race. It’s really hard to assess where we are in regards to our speed right now because of the rough conditions on the water, but I do think that we had a good week of practice while we were down here for spring break.”
The Lady Vols won the varsity four race in 6:13.04, followed by Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Maria Romano (River Forest, Ill.), Kati Sedun (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Kristin Henkel (Manchester, Conn.), Tricia Hale (Page, Ariz.) and Shannon Mohan (Naperville, Ill.) which crossed the finish line in 6:28.94. Michigan State’s boat did not finish the race.
The novice eight race was won by Michigan State with a time of 5:43.96, followed by Notre Dame’s crew of coxswain Ko Un Park (Seoul, Korea), Christine Burke (San Diego, Calif), Jenny Shin (Mercer Island, Wash.), Kathleen Linzmeier (Coto de Caza, Calif.), Kirstan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.) and Carolyn Sarb (Lisle, Ill.) in 6:00.74 and Tennessee (6:02.61).
Notre Dame returns to action next Saturday, March 19 when the Irish travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face another strong test against No. 4 Michigan.