TicketsApril 29, 2007
WORCESTER, Mass.--The University of Cincinnati women's rowing team made big splashes today at the the BIG EAST Rowing Championships. The Bearcats placed fourth overall with 69 points and as head coach Pam Mork put it, "It was a huge success. It was a great team effort and I could not be happier." The BIG EAST Rowing Championships were held on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. where the Bearcats started the day off early with trial races before heading into the finals later in the afternoon.
The greatest success came from the first varsity eight boat, which placed second with a time of 6:53.89 in the first heat of the trials, trailing first place Notre Dame by only 12 seconds. The team then finished fifth place in the finals in a time of 6:53.32. The boat was compiled of coxswain Liz Johnson, Abby Beach, Sarah White, Jessica Beebe, Beth Murphy, Lindsey Kemna, Eliz Tremblay, Megan Peters, and Emily Knaus.
The first varsity four boat was able to capture a third place finish in the second heat of the trials with a time of 7:49.72. The team made a great sprint at the end to receive a fourth place finish in the finals in 7:53.87. The boat was made up of coxswain Mary Locke, Kelly Camp, Jackie Kleinhans, Lindsay Fattlar, and Ashley Wolff.
The novice 8 team with coxswain Courtney Knudsen, Kara Stricker, Anna Hallet, Jessica Bohache, Jackie Sander, Tamara Pakeman, Jessica Spencer, Teresa Schmidt and Brianna McSemek placed fourth in the first heat of the trials with a time of 7:17.90. The boat went on to place second in the petite finals with a time of 7:11.55.
The second varsity eight crew of coxswain Melissa Patrick, Sarah Lautenslager, Jessica Miller, Lisa Teague, Jodie Lush, Julie Idione, Emily Fox, Crystal Coolbaugh and Stephanie Celek took home fourth place after pulling ahead in the final stretch, giving the team a time of 7:04.96. The second varsity four crew of coxswain Ann Kay, Candice DeCree, Katie McGill, Elizabeth Nocheck, and Deirdre McCartney took fourth with a time of 8:02.75.
"We are just overjoyed; it was a great day for the rowing team. We have been working for this since last year. It was incredible, and the team is ecstatic!" explained Mork.
The Bearcats will have their final race of the season May 12-13 at the Central/South Regional Championships held at Melton Hill Lake in Oakridge, Tenn.
Team Standings
Notre Dame 118
Louisville 101*
Syracuse 101*
Cincinnati 69
Rutgers 66*
Connecticut 66*
Georgetown 34
Villanova 29*
West Virginia 29*
Ties broken by placement in the Varsity Eight race.