Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Martin Stone and the Irish got their season started at the Head of the Rock on Sunday.

 
Irish Varsity Eight Crews Place Four Boats In Top-10 At Head of the Rock

Novice eight garners two top-10 finishes.

Oct. 8, 2007

Rockford, Ill. - The Notre Dame rowing team produced strong results in its first regatta of the 2007 fall season on Sunday, Oct. 7 at the Head of the Rock. The Irish, who traditionally begin the fall campaign at this event, had four of their six varsity eight boats produce top-10 finishes, while both novice eight entrants garnered top-10 finishes.

In the varsity eight race, which featured 23 boats, the crew of coxswain Kelsey Otero, Anni Nowhitney, Kristan Madison, Allison Marsh, Lauren Buck, Mary Quinn, Chris Trezza, Julie Sobolewski and Amanda Polk Amanda Polk, placed second overall in the field with a time of 15:42.05 with Wisconsin taking first in 15:34.05.

The next boat to cross the finish for the Irish was the crew of coxswain Christina Padayhag, Casey Robinson, Andrea Archer, Lindsey McQuaid, Emily Crosby, Lauren Pearson, Mary Kate McNamara, Elli Greybar and Erica Copeland took sixth as they registered a time of 16:00.56. They finished behind Wisconsin (15:44.16), Iowa (15:47.92) and Purdue (15:54.90).

Notre Dame's next two entrants earned eighth and ninth-place finishes. The boat of coxswain Sarah Keithley, Katherine McMakin, Alyssa Teves, Danielle Leary, Kaitlin Jackson, Brittany Burnham, Ankica Jedry, Emily Backer and Kendra Short posted a time of 16:15.53, while the crew of coxswain AZ Tice, Braegan Padley, Casey Sullivan, Bridget Leone, Kellyn Nestor, Erica Castro-Larsen, Casey Fairbanks, Mallory Glass and Brittney Kelly in 16:24.59.

The Irish crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi, Lisa Bunn, Mary Theresa DiSipio, Hannah Jackson, Katherine Linnemanstrons, Elizabeth Peters, Christina Buckley, Genevieve Malone and Carol Ann Michel took 14th with a time of 16:53.24.

The final boat of coxswain Katherine DeMartini, Jaime Cordes, Brianna Krafcik, Elise Smith, Claire Streitman, Sarah Gray, Amanda Cosfol, Stephanie Gretsch and Cailey Ryckman took 23rd in 20:00.53.

Notre Dame's novice eight boats also turned in impressive performances earning third and eighth-place finishes among the 10 boats entered in the race. The crew of coxswain Rachel Louie, Stephanie Farris, DeSipio, Hannah Jackson, Linnemanstons, Peters, Buckley, Malone and Michel posted a time of 17:12.55, behind two boats from Wisconsin that were clocked in 16:24.11 and 16:46.30.

The final Irish boat in the race registered its eighth-place finish with a time of 20:01.95 and was made up of coxswain Christy Le, Erika Shults, Sarah Johnson, Kristen Andree, Cosfol, Elaine Amoresano, Shannon Kiernan, Gretsch and Kathryn Thornton.

"I was pleased with our results and thought we raced well for the first time out," Irish head coach Martin Stone said. "Our times were better than a year ago when we rowed at this event. Overall, I was happy with how competitive we were."

Notre Dame will be in action again at the Cal Sag in Blue Island, Ill., on Sunday, Nov. 4.