Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Notre Dame's varsity eight crew faced its third consecutive ranked boat when the Irish went up against California on Sunday afternoon.

 
Notre Dame Bested By California In All Three Races On Final Day Of Pac-10 Challenge

Irish Varsity Eight Falls To No. 9 California

March 30, 2008

Redwood Shores, Calif. - The Irish rowing team lost all of its three races to California on Sunday afternoon to conclude competition at the Pac-10 Challenge presented by Windemere in Redwood Shores, Calif.

Facing its third consecutive ranked boat, the No. 14 varsity eight crew of coxswain Kelsey Otero (Meqoun, Wis.), Lauren Buck (Flint, Mich.) Kendra Short (Everett, Wash.), Christine Trezza (Staten Island, N.Y.), Allison Marsh (Mashpee, Mass.), Laura Pearson (Bloomington, Minn.), Julie Sobolewski (Haddonfield, N.J.), Amanda Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Mary Quinn (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) crossed the finish line in 7:05.78, while the No. 9 Bears covered the course in 6:45.84.

After winning both of its races against Stanford and UCLA yesterday, the second varsity eight race, the crew of coxswain Stephanie Szegedi (South Lyon, Mich.), Brittney Kelly (Wexford, Pa.), Carol Ann Michel (Princeton, N.J.), Emily Crosby (Long Branch, N.J.), Kristan Madison (Saginaw, Mich.), Elli Greybar (Western Springs, Ill.), Anni Nowhitney (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), Casey Robinson (Dulles, Va.) and Erica Copeland (Marietta, Ga.) was edged by Bears by five seconds. Notre Dame posted a time of 6:45.89, while California finished first in 6:40.82.

The varsity four crew of coxswain Sarah Keithley (Austin, Tex.), Mary Kate McNamara (North Potomac, Md.), Mallory Glass (Okemos, Mich.), Bridget Leone (Garden City, N.Y.) and Ankica Jedry (Chicago, Ill.) finished with a time of 7:59.90, while California registered a winning time of 7:39.10.

"We faced some tough races this weekend," head coach Martin Stone said. "I think we learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to do in the next couple of weeks to improve, but it is still early in the season where we have time to pick up speed in our boats."