ROWING: Tailwind blows Irish to victory at Indiana Crew Classic
By MATT ZAVODNYIK
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame rowing team is the champion of Indiana.
The Irish crew team dominated the Indiana Crew Classic this weekend with great performances over Indiana and Purdue.
With the help of a prevailing tailwind, the first varsity eight dominated with a time of 6 minutes, 13.2 seconds. Rowers Katherine Burnett, Katie Besson, Natalie Ladine, Diane Price, Becky Luckett, Ashlee Warren, Michelle Olsgard, Jayme Szefc and coxswain Cassie Markstahler won the race by almost 15 seconds.
The second-place team in the first varsity eight race was Notre Dame's "B" crew. They had an outstanding race, edging out Purdue's first varsity by .8 seconds and dominating Indiana's first eight by almost 10 seconds.
"This was a great race for our second varsity eight to be in," said Irish coach Martin Stone. "It was great for them to beat that Purdue crew."
The second varsity eight rowers were Danielle Protasewich, Kathleen Welsh, Melissa Alberding, Jacqueline Hazen, Courtney Mercer, Erica Drennen, Kerri Murphy, Meg Feely and coxswain Kathryn Long.
The Irish varsity four rowers consisting of Kati Sedun, Elizabeth Specht, Maureen Carr, Kolleen Myers and coxswain Kacy McCaffery absolutely blew away the competition. They finished 20 seconds in front of second-place Indiana and 36 seconds ahead of third-place Purdue.
"The varsity four consistently rode away from the competition," Stone said.
The Irish fourth varsity eight also had an electrifying performance when they beat Notre Dame's third varsity and just got edged out by Purdue's second varsity crew.
"The fourth eight did an outstanding job," Stone said. "They just didn't have the horsepower at the end."
The Irish third varsity crew had some trouble.
"They were down from the start. The rowers pulled really hard, but they didn't race an intelligent race," Stone said. "It was one of those times when they just tried too hard."
Stone knows that the team's recent success cannot allow the team to lose their focus.
"We can row with anyone in the country, but we have to stay focused on our goals," Stone said. "We have to stay poised."
The goal for the crew team this season is to receive a bid to compete in the NCAA Championships. This past weekend's race was at the site where the NCAA Championships will take place. After dominating the regatta, Notre Dame has a week off to prepare for future races.
"The intensity of practice will go up," said Besson.
The Big East Rowing Challenge is in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 28. However, the Irish are mainly focused on the Central Region Championships — the race that determines who advances to the NCAA Championships.
"We are going to train hard," Stone said. "Everything is focused at Central Regions."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, April 16, 2002
