Lightweights defeat Badgers
By JEFF BALTRUZAK
Sports Writer
The Irish rowing team's lightweights proved to be heavy on strong finishes this weekend, taking first in the fours at Sunday's Head of the Rock in Rockford and winning both the fours and the eights at the Chicago Chase on Saturday.
The Irish lightweight fours, coxed by Pamela Swan, scorched the three-mile course Sunday, leaving powerhouse Wisconsin in their wake by over 12 seconds.
For a fledgling program like Notre Dame, defeating the mighty Badgers was a cause for excitement.
"I don't know if we've ever beaten one of their top boats," said captain Erin Kiernicki. "Wisconsin always expects to win, and for us to beat them, that was big."
The open weight eight boat made similar strides against the competition. The crew finished third, behind only Wisconsin and Iowa, placing the Irish squarely amongst the elite squads of the Midwest.
"That was our best performance ever in the open eights," said senior Leah Ashe.
The open eights, with Claire Bula at coxswain, avenged their loss to Indiana at Chicago by defeating the Hoosiers handily on Sunday by over 18 seconds. Notre Dame finished the 3 mile race in 15 minutes, 51.35 seconds.
"In Sunday's race, we passed three boats, which helped us to stay motivated for all 4000 meters," said bow seat Ann Marie Dillhoff. "We could feel that we were racing a good piece, especially through the last quarter of the course."
As for the lightweight eights, they took silver in Rockford, finishing only behind Wisconsin.
Coach Martin Stone expected strong performances from his pairs teams, and his rowers responded forcefully. At Chicago, Irishwomen Becky Luckett and Ashlee Warren won the open pairs race, impressing Ashe. "They're two really good rowers," she said. "They had a fantastic race."
Luckett and Warren returned Sunday to finish third out of 22 boats, with
teammates Jaime Szefc and Katherine Burnett placing seventh, while Dillhoff and Diane Price took eighth.
The two novice eight boats, made of exclusively first year rowers, followed the lead of the varsity and finished just behind Indiana and Northwestern in the shadow of downtown Chicago. The Irish, unlike their competitors, were rowing their first race ever. They did not compete on Sunday.
Ashe was ecstatic about the team's overall effort this weekend.
"It was a big step forward for Notre Dame," she said. "It was our most successful weekend yet."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 10, 2000
