Providence, R.I. – Seven of the eight BIG EAST rowing teams were on the water last week and six more compete 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…
vs. Boston College and Holy Cross, April 17 (Worcester, Mass.): Connecticut
vs. Navy and Princeton, April 16 (Washington, D.C.): Georgetown
Charles River Challenge, April 16-17 (Boston, Mass.): Louisville, Syracuse
vs. Penn and Cornell, April 16 (Ithaca, N.Y.): Rutgers
Gold River Challenge, April 16-17 (Sacramento, Calif.): Notre Dame
Idle: Villanova, West Virginia
Connecticut:The Huskies competed at the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J., on April 9-10. The crew’s second varsity eight finished in fifth place in the Grand Final, notching a time of 7:02.70 after finishing second in their first heat and third in the semifinals. Connecticut finished five seconds behind first-place Wisconsin. The second varsity eight boat consisted of Briattanie Reiold, Natalie Carlone, Lizzie Littlewood, Adrienne Barrett, Madelyn Walters, Mary Grace Haggett, Melissa Soucie, Deana Cabrey and Erin Mounce.
The Huskies are in action on April 17 when they compete against Boston College and Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
Georgetown: The Hoyas competed in the GW Invitational on April 9-10 on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The crew’s first varsity eight including Amanda Savage, Lindsey Bragg, Kayla McNeill, Erin Landy, Dasha Ryaboshapka, Erin Carter, Sydney LeGuyader, Haley Allen and Victoria Stulgis defeated Brock University in open water in the Petite Final. The crew finished in a time of 6:37.5, close to 17 seconds faster than Brock University.
Georgetown returns to the Potomac River next weekend when they host Navy and Princeton.
Louisville: The Cardinals earned varsity eight and varsity four wins over Indiana, while also suffering a narrow varsity eight loss to No. 9 Ohio State last week. Louisville’s varsity eight finished with a time of 7:00.2 to beat out Indiana by more than three seconds. The crew lost a closely contested race against Ohio State, coming in just 0.6 seconds behind the Buckeyes. The crew’s varsity four had the biggest win of the day, beating out Indiana by more than nine seconds.
Louisville competes at the Charles River Challenge on April 16-17 in Boston, Mass.
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 when they head to the Gold River Challenge on April 16-17 in Sacramento, Calif.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights competed at the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J., on April 9-10. The crew’s varsity eight had the strongest performance of the weekend, finishing second in the Grand Final with a time of 6:47.61. RU was edged out by Grand Valley State by just 0.27 seconds. The varsity eight came in second in their first heat and second in the semifinals to reach the Grand Final.
The Scarlet Knights compete against Penn and Cornell on April 16 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Syracuse:Syracuse recorded three third-place finishes and one fourth-place showing against No. 19 Penn and Northeastern on Charles River in Boston, Mass., on April 9. The Orange varsity eight, second varsity eight and third varsity eight all finished third and SU’s varsity four took fourth.
The Orange are back in the water on April 16 in Cambridge, Mass., when the crew takes on Harvard, Dartmouth and BIG EAST-foe Louisville.
Villanova: Villanova had four different boats advance to the Grand Finals at the Knecht Cup on April 9-10. The top result for the team was a second-place finish for the novice eight, who crossed the finish line in 7:17.77.
Villanova also received the bronze medal in the second varsity four race after winning its preliminary heat. The crew’s varsity four and novice four boats each placed fourth in its Grand Final.
Villanova is idle this week. The team next competes at the BIG EAST Championships on May 1.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers competed at the Knecht Cup on April 9-10. In their first time rowing together, the crew’s novice four boat of Morgan Leach, Sara Olenich, Danicka Rencken, Jessica Hurlbert and Christina Mehrtens took first of 41 teams in the Grand Final. WVU won its preliminary heat and finished second in the semifinals before beating second-place Massachusetts by three seconds in the final.
The Mountaineers are idle this week. The team next competes on the Potomac River against George Washington and Georgetown on April 22.
