University of Massachusets Athletics
Rowing Set To Host Pumpkin Head Regatta Saturday
October 14, 2010 | Rowing
Oct. 14, 2010
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AMHERST, Mass. - After kicking off the 2010 fall season last weekend at the Head of the Housatonic, the UMass rowing team will return home this weekend to host the Pumpkin Head Regatta on Saturday. The Minutewomen will be competing against neighboring schools from Amherst College, Smith College and Mount Holyoke College. Races will commence at 8 AM on the Connecticut River.
The Minutewomen are coming off a strong performance at the Head of the Housatonic last weekend, and are looking to continue their preparations for the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta on October 23-24 on the Charles River in Boston.
Projected Lineup:
Lightweight 8+: Carly Payne (cox), Liz Euiler, Chelsea Wakeham, Megan Donovan, Tory Gordon, Sarah Shapero, Wystan Carswell, Amy Nash, Kim Patrick
8+: Caitlyn O'Leary (cox), Teresa O'Brien, Kelsey Schachter, Kaitlyn MacKenzie, Beth Paret, Katie VonZweck, Adriene Breef-Pilz, Rachel Spielberg, Angela Stigliano
Checking The Forecast:

• Rain is expected to enter the Western Mass. area Thursday night, but should clear up by Saturday morning. Winds on Friday will range from 15-25 mph, but are anticipated to subside for the beginning of Homecoming Weekend. Temperatures for Saturday's race will be in the mid-50s.
Home Again, Home Again:
• Saturday will be the lone home race on the Connecticut River for the Minutewomen's 2010 fall season. UMass was scheduled to race at home on October 2, but poor weather in the days leading up to the race forced the coaching staff to postpone the UMass Invitational. The spring schedule for Massachusetts has yet to be finalized, however the tentative schedule does not have the Minutewomen hosting a home race.
Last Weekend At The Head Of The Housatonic:
• The UMass Rowing team kicked off its 2010-11 campaign with a respectable showing at the Head of the Housatonic in Shelton, Conn. The Minutewomen entered eight boats in six races against schools from across New England. Massachusetts will return home next Saturday to host the Pumpkin Head Regatta during Homecoming Weekend. Racing is scheduled to begin at 8 AM on the Connecticut River.
• Emily Boucher got things started for Massachusetts in the morning session with a fourth place finish in the single, clocking in at 20:32.954. Seniors Elizabeth Euiler and Chelsea Wakeham competed in the pair event, and raced to a third place finish with a time of 20:36.809.
• The Minutewomen entered two boats into the Varsity 4+, with coxswain Carly Payne's boat clocking in with a time of 19:14.276, good for a fifth place finish. Em Chiu's 4+ squad crossed the finish at 20:55.074, an 11th place finish. UMass also entered a boat into the Novice 4+, and the Minutewomen finished fourth (23:22.103), just behind two Trinity boats and Atlantic 10 foe Fordham.
• Megan Donovan and Tory Gordon raced as a double during the afternoon session, finishing second with a time of 23:18.351. UMass finished out the day with two boats in the Varsity 8+ races, where Chiu's boat placed 12th with a time of 17:58.444 while Payne's 8+ clocked in just five seconds later at 18:03.004 for 13th place.
The 2010-11 Minutewomen:
• UMass returns 30 letterwinners from the 2009-10 squad including seven of the nine members of the Lightweight 8+ boat that captured the gold medal at the Dad Vail regatta in May. The varsity is starting off the season with a strong base group of 30 student-athletes while the rising novices will fill in the ranks to round the squad out to 65.
The 2010 Fall Schedule:
• The coaching staff has assembled a fall schedule very similar to those from recent years. UMass will travel to Derby, Conn. to compete in the Head of the Housatonic on October 9 before returning home to host the Pumpkin Head Regatta on October 16 during Homecoming Weekend.
• From there the Minutewomen will head to Boston for the 46th annual Head of the Charles Regatta where Coach Dietz will look to defend his Veteran Singles title, a race he won by 25 seconds last fall. Massachusetts will race again on the Charles River in the Foot of the Charles, which is slated for November 11.
• UMass will then make its way to Saratoga, N.Y. for the Head of the Fish on Halloween Weekend before taking on the Big Green of Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. on November 6. The Minutewomen will spend two months off the water as the Fall Semester concludes before gearing up for the spring season during their winter training trip in Deland, Fla.
Sarah Jones Inducted Into UMass Hall Of Fame:
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• Jones was a member of United States National Team from 1997-2003. She competed for Team USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, helping the stars and stripes to a sixth-place finish. She medaled six times in the World Championships. Jones was a two-time World Championship gold medalist in both 1999 and 2000. She was also a silver medalist at the Head of the Charles in 1998 and 1999 and took bronze in 1997.
Boucher Goes Global:
• Emily Boucher (Lee, N.H.) represented the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus. Boucher raced in the Lightweight Single Sculls event, where she earned a spot after capturing gold by nearly seven seconds in the same event at the U23 Trials in late June.
• Boucher got off to a tough start on the first day of competition, finishing fifth in her preliminary heat with a time of 8:08.51. She put up a fight through the first half of the course before falling back to eventual top-finisher from Belarus.
• The UMass junior was then forced to race in the repechage where she placed third, shaving off three seconds from her previous time with a 8:05.67 to earn a spot in the semifinals.
• Boucher stayed consistent during the semifinals with a finish time of 8:05.05, but boats from Belarus and Austria set the pace in their one-two finish, pushing Boucher down to fifth place. Competition didn't get any easier in the Final B, however, as Kazakhstan and Switzerland made it a two-boat race with Boucher clocking in with a time of 9:02.90, a sixth place finish.
Four Minutewomen Named To 2010 All-Atlantic 10 Teams:
• Following the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championships, four Minutewomen were named to the A-10 All-Conference teams. Samantha Smith and Megan Donovan were named to the first team, while Amanda Doolin and Alexandra DiMatteo were named to the second team.
• Smith, Doolin and DiMatteo are part of UMass' Varsity 8+ boat that finished fifth last weekend at 6:54.04. It was the first All-Conference selection for Smith and DiMatteo while Doolin was named to the second team for the second straight season. Doolin broke the Novice 2K erg record in 2008.
• Donovan races in the Second Varsity 8+, which finished second at the A-10 Championships with a time of 6:49.91. She also raced in the Quad, which placed second (7:22.77) to secure her first All-Conference Selection.
• Donovan was also named the 2010 Atlantic 10 Rowing Student-Athlete of the Year as well as the UMass Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team member.