University of Massachusets Athletics
Crew Trio Earns All-Region Honors
June 14, 2002 | Women's Crew
June 14, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. -- Two members of the UMass' women's crew team, senior Sarah Pollmann (Hamm, Germany) and junior Megan Mastropolo (Old Tappan, N.J.) have been named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Mid-Atlantic Region honor squads.
Pollmann earned first team honors, while Mastropolo, the coxswain of the UMass Varsity 8, was a second team selection. The duo led the UMass Varsity 8 to victories at the A-10 Championships, and the Dad Vail and Avaya Regattas.
The All-Region teams are designed to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of female rowers and coxswains during the current season. The nomination criteria include meeting eligibility rules as defined by her institution, participating in at least 75% of the season's races in the varsity boat, and the student-athletes's Head Coach must be a member in good standing of the CRCA. A maximum of four athletes per institution may be honored.
From the list of nominees, a maximum of 12 rowers and one coxswain may be named to the first and second team for each region. Members of the All-Region teams are selected by CRCA head coaches based on the nominee's team record, strength of schedule, nomination rank, coaches comments and 2,000-meter ergometer score.
The All-America first and second teams will be selected by the Regional Chairpersons from the rowers who have received All-Region first team honors. All-America honors will be announced at a later date.
Mastropolo and sophomore Katie O'Brien (Shrewsbury, Mass.) were named to the CRCA's Mid-Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete team. Mastropolo, who also earned academic All-Atlantic 10 honors, owns a 3.69 gpa in HRTA, while O'Brien carries a 3.80 gpa in management. In all, 93 Division I student-athletes were honored.
The CRCA's Scholar-Athlete award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of female rowers and coxswains during the current season. The criteria for the academic award is the same as that for the group's all-region teams with an additional requirement that the student-athlete have a 3.5 cumulative gpa or higher through the fall semester of the current season.
Coach Jim Dietz' team captured its seventh consecutive A-10 championship in 2002, and his Varsity 8 boat finished the season ranked as the nation's 24th-best boat in the final USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll.