Providence, R.I. – TheBIG EAST rowing season is underway as six of the eight teams have been in the water as we approach the end of March. Syracuse and Rutgers are the only two teams that have not competed yet and both will be in action this weekend. Seven of the eight BIG EAST squads are in competition this weekend. 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…
Yankee Cup, March 26 (Kingston, R.I.): Connecticut
Vs. North Carolina, March 26 (Washington, D.C.): Georgetown
Vs. Dartmouth and Alabama, March 26 (Knoxville, Tenn.): Louisville
Vs. Indiana and Purdue, March 27 (Indianapolis, Ind.): Notre Dame
Murphy Cup Regatta, March 27 (Philadelphia, Pa.): Rutgers, Villanova
Kittell Cup, March 26 (Boston, Mass.): Syracuse
Idle: West Virginia
Connecticut: Connecticut opened its season on March 12 in Miami, Fla. In the main race, the Miami varsity eight won in a time of 7:27.6 while the UConn varsity eight came in at 7:37.4. The two varsity boats were even midway through the race at the 1,000-meter mark, but UConn hit a buoy which caused the boat to go sideways and give Miami the advantage.
Connecticut is next at the Yankee Cup in Kingston, R.I., on March 26. The team will compete against Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Georgetown: The Hoyas opened their season at the Jesuit Invitational in Camden, N.J., on March 19. The crew placed first and second in the second varsity eight race and claimed victory in the third varsity eight race.
GU would take the top two spots in the second varsity eight race with the crew of Marissa Morgan, Angela Nelson, Carly McCaffrey, Isabel Aguirre-Kelly, Katherine Farrell, Kyla Cook, Lauren Abrams, Allie Flinn and coxswain Devon O'Brien taking the top spot in 7:11.0. The Hoyas third varsity eight of Rachel Gary, Anna Drabek, Jacqui Snell, Maureen O'Connor, Kate Hale, Isabel Baker, Tegan Campia, Helen Burdett and coxswain Mikaela Medeiros earned a victory with a time of 7:27.4 to defeat Boston College and Saint Joseph's.
Georgetown hosts North Carolina on March 26.
Louisville:Louisville’s varsity eight finished 2-2 at the Longhorn Invitational at Lady Bird Lake March 19-20, including wins over No. 10 Wisconsin and Kansas State.
The team of freshman coxswain Ali Wood, senior stroke Anastasia Prokopenko, freshman Morgan Dunham, sophomore Katya Monchenko, senior Kristin Falovo, senior Lauren Mensch, senior Cara Littleton, senior Sam Kayser and sophomore Erin Bennett defeated the 10th-ranked Badgers for the second straight season by crossing the line in 7:04.3. The crew edged Wisconsin by .05 seconds. Louisville also notched a victory against Kansas State, beating the Wildcats by more than nine seconds and finishing in 7:42.6. Louisville’s two losses came against No. 20 Texas and Oklahoma.
The Cardinals row against Dartmouth and Alabama in Knoxville, Tenn., on March 26.
Notre Dame: Notre Dame concluded its spring break trip by winning four of five races against Buffalo on March 19 at Melton Lake. The squad claimed wins in the second varsity eight, third varsity eight/novice eight, varsity eight and third varsity eight/lightweight races.
In the varsity eight race, Notre Dame continued to slowly pull away over the 2,000m course. The Irish crew of coxswain Abby Meyers, Katherine Linnemanstons, Genevieve Malone, Carol Ann Michel, Olivia Kacsits, Molly Bruggeman, Emily Crosby, Stephanie O'Neill and Stephanie Gretsch ended the race with a full seven second win, crossing at 6:10.9.
Notre Dame returns to the water on March 27, as the team heads to Indianapolis, Ind., to battle Indiana and Purdue.
Rutgers:Rutgers opens its season at the Murphy Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa., on March 26.
Syracuse: Syracuse opens its season with the race for the Kittell Cup at Boston University on March 26. It marks the debut of first-year head coach Justin Moore.
The Kittell Cup goes to the winner of the annual Syracuse-Boston University varsity eight race. Donated by former SU rower Kristin Bidwell '90, the Kittell Cup is named after former associate director of athletics Janet Kittell for her support of the women's rowing program.
Both universities have won the cup four times, with SU winning in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2010. BU took home the cup in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
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 opened its season against North Carolina and George Mason on March 19 in Raleigh, N.C. WVU’s varsity eight led the Mountaineers with a second-place finish in a time of 7:13.00.
West Virginia is next the Occoquan Springs on April 3.
