Providence, R.I. – Six of the eight BIG EAST rowing teams were in action last week and seven teams will hit the water this week. Three BIG EAST teams will compete in the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J., on April 9-10 including Connecticut, Rutgers and West Virginia. The 2011 BIG EAST Rowing Championships will be held at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. on May 1.
Where they will be this week…
Knecht Cup, April 9-10 (Camden, N.J.): Connecticut, Rutgers, West Virginia
GW Invitational, April 9-10 (Washington, D.C.): Georgetown
vs. Ohio and Ohio State, April 9 (Columbus, Ohio): Louisville
Orange Challenge Cup, April 9 (Boston, Mass.) Syracuse
Occoquan Sprints, April 3(Fairfax Station, Va.): West Virginia
Idle: Notre Dame
Connecticut:Connecticut hosted a pair of races over the weekend on Coventry Lake in Coventry, Conn. The Huskies varsity eight notched a pair of victories, beating Trinity and Marist on Saturday followed by wins over Marist and La Salle on Sunday. The varsity eight crew of coxswain Charlotte Kelly, stroke Diana Filipek, Kate Clarke, Gretchen Stern, Kim Weber, Hillary Wiles-laFayette, Lizzie Littlewood, Andreil Doolittle and Brittany Depoi earned BIG EAST Boat of the Week for the two wins.
The Huskies return to the water on April 9-10 for the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.
Georgetown: The Hoyas competed at the SeaWorld Cal Cup in San Diego, Calif., on April 4. Georgetown’s varsity eight crew qualified for the finals and finished fifth with a time of 7:05.9. The crew, which consisted of Victoria Stulgis, Amanda Savage, Lindsey Bragg, Kayla McNeill, Erin Landy, Dasha Ryaboshapka, Erin Carter, Sydney LeGuyader and Haley Allen captured second in the preliminary round.
The Hoyas compete in the GW Invitational on April 9-10 on the Potomac River.
Louisville: The Cardinals did not compete this week. In the team’s last race, Louisville’s varsity eight earned a victory over No. 16 Tennessee on March 26. The crew finished the course in 6:31, more than two seconds clear of the Lady Volunteers. It marked the second-straight win for Louisville’s varsity eight boat over a top-20 team following a March 19 triumph over No. 10 Wisconsin.
Louisville next competes against Ohio and Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on April 9.
Notre Dame: The Irish did not compete this week. In the team’s last race, Notre Dame earned three race victories against Indiana, Purdue and Eastern Michigan on March 27 at the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind. The Irish varsity four, as well as the second and third varsity eight boats, turned in wins. The varsity four boat of Christina Dines, Kiersten DeHaven, Joanna Poinsatte, Sarah McShane and Ching-Ting Hwang notched a 13-second win in the first race of the day, crossing the line in 7:56.0.
The Irish return to the water in two weeks when they head to the Gold River Challenge on April 16-17 in Sacramento, Calf.
Rutgers:The Scarlet Knights competed against No. 1 Princeton and Navy on the Raritan River. Rutgers finished second in both the first and second varsity eight races, coming in behind the top-ranked Tigers in both. The first varsity eight crew finished in a time of 6:44.9, beating out Navy by almost 10 seconds.
The Scarlet Knights return to the water on April 9-10 for the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.
Syracuse:Syracuse finished third in all five races against Yale and instate rival Cornell on the Housatonic River in Derby, Conn. The Orange varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight and two varsity fours were in action.
The 18th-ranked Cornell Big Red won the varsity eight in 6:14.5. Syracuse crossed the line in 6:39.5. The Cornell C boat also won the second varsity four in 7:11.6. The Orange finished in 7:51.3.
The Orange return to action at the Orange Challenge Cup in Boston, Mass., on April 9.
Villanova: Villanova opened its season with races against Drexel and La Salle on March 19. The Wildcats came away with two wins in the five races.
Four boats - including two from Villanova - competed in the varsity four race and the top boat for the Wildcats crossed the finish line with a time of 7:12.1 to register a seven-second margin of victory over Drexel and the two other boats. The second Villanova boat finished with a time of 7:30.72, while La Salle came in fourth in 7:42.43.
The team next competes in the Murphy Cup on March 26 in Philadelphia, Pa.
West Virginia: West Virginia competed at the Occoquan Sprints in Fairfax, Va., on April 3. The team was led by its varsity eight boat, which finished second of 16 schools. The crew of Jenelle Spencer, Hilary Meale, Rachelle Purych, Kaitlyn Brownson, Rachel Vigilianco, Shannon Gribbons, Karen Verwey, Courtney Schrand and Sarah Cartwright crossed the line in 7:26.82 in the finals, just .22 seconds behind first-place Dayton.
The Mountaineers next compete in the Knecht Cup on April 9-10.
-BIG EAST-
