Womens Rowing: Irish upset No. 15 Hawkeyes
By CHRISTINE ARMSTRONG
Sports Writer
The womens rowing team overcame rough weather conditions on Sunday to upset No. 15 Iowa. The Irish, ranked 21st in the nation, won four of its five races in Iowa City.
Because of the weather, the usual 2,000-meter course was broken down into two 1,000-meter stretches.
Coxswain Kathryn Long, Shannon Mohan, Kerri Murphy, Kathleen Welsh, Meredith Thornburgh, Kati Sedun, Devon Hegeman, Katie Chenoweth and Melissa Felker led Notre Dame's second varsity eight to two wins, taking the first heat in 3:32.40. Iowa finished seconds later in 3:34.30. In the second piece, the Irish crossed the line in 3:33.7, followed by the Iowa in 3:35.16.
Iowa secured two wins in the first varsity eight. The Hawkeyes won the first race by over four seconds and the second by almost five seconds. The Irish crew of coxswain Cassie Markstahler, Erica Drennen and Natalie Ladine, Alice Bartek, Meghan Boyle, Casey Buckstaff, Rachel Polinski, Ashlee Warren and Danielle Protasewich finished in 3:26.65. In the second race, Iowa finished in 3:28.42, and the Irish were seconds behind with a 3:33.30 finish.
Notre Dame bounced back with wins in the varsity four races. Coxswain Kacy McCaffrey, Katie McCalden, Christy Donnelly, Katie O'Hara and Andrea Amoni won the first piece in 4:03.60, a solid eight seconds ahead of Iowa. The Irish barely escaped the Hawkeyes in the second race, though, with a 4:06.28 finish. Iowa finished less than a second behind them.
The second varsity four crews only raced one piece, but the Irish prevailed yet again. The Notre Dame "B" crew of Caitlin Rackish, cox, Kristen Mizzi, stroke, Sarah Keefer, Tricia David and Courtney Quinn took first place in 4:15.0. Iowa was second in 4:21.0, while Notre Dame's "A" crew of coxswain Maureen Gibbons, Ann Mulligan, Jacqueline Hazen, Antionette Duck and Megan Sanders was third with a 4:21.61 finish.
The Irish novice boats also had noteworthy performances in the novice eight races. Coxswain Shannon Lettieri, Pamela Jefson, Julie Lewis, Morgan Ertel, Danielle Stealy, Jenna Redgate, Catherine Schmidt, Andrea Doud and Sarah French led the "A" crew to a 3:47.01 win. The Hawkeyes took a close second in 3:52.91, while Notre Dame's "B" crew of coxswain Nicole Barczak, Meghan O'Neil, Megan Sheehan, Fallon Shields, Nikki Karis, Marcia Luttio, Katie Hanafin, Rachel Kemp and Laura Joyce finished in third. In the second race, Notre Dame's A boat won in 3:50.60, followed by Iowa in 3:58.40 and the Notre Dame B in 4:23.8.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 7, 2003
