University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Ready For Prestigious Head Of The Charles
October 22, 2010 | Rowing
Oct. 22, 2010
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AMHERST, Mass. - With the Pumpkin Head Regatta in the rearview mirror, the UMass rowing team is gearing up for the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston this weekend. The two-day event will kickoff Saturday morning, but the Minutewomen have entered races slated to begin Sunday morning. Massachusetts plans to race in the Lightweight Single, Championship Four and Lightweight 8+. Head Coach Jim Dietz is scheduled to compete in the Veteran Single, as well.
Currently in its 46th year, the Head of the Charles is the world's largest two-day rowing event, first held in October of 1965. "Head" races, a class of regattas, are generally three miles long. Boats race against each other and the clock, starting sequentially approximately fifteen seconds apart. Today, over 8,000 athletes from around the globe compete in 55 different events. The weekend now attracts upwards of 300,000 spectators.
Projected Lineup:
Single: Emily Boucher
Four: Samantha Schnoerr (coxs), Katelyn Allocco, Alexandra DiMatteo, Kendall Bennett &Amanda Doolin
Lightweight 8+: Carly Payne (cox), Elizabeth Euiler, Chelsea Wakeham, Megan Donovan, Tory Gordon, Sarah Shapero, Amy Nash, W. Carswell & Kimberly Patrick
Checking The Forecast:

• Temperatures for the UMass races on Sunday are expected to range from the low to high 50s with occasional showers possible. Winds are not expected to exceed 10 mph.
Last Season At The Head Of The Charles:
• The UMass rowing team concluded a successful campaign last season at a snow-filled 45th annual Head of the Charles Regatta. The Minutewomen were led by Julia Richter, who finished 12th in the women's singles race. Massachusetts head coach Jim Dietz also raced over the weekend, placing first in the Veterans Men Singles, 25 seconds ahead of the second place boat.
• On Saturday Richter, one of just two college students entered in the race, finished her singles race with an adjusted time of 20:51.139, just over a minute behind the first place finisher. Dietz, meanwhile, finished his race with an adjusted time of 20:17.311. Coach Dietz finished 22 seconds ahead of the other competitors. Assistant Coach Laura Simon was the coxswain for the Women's Alumni 8+ on Saturday, finishing 17th with a time of 19:59.744.
Despite tumultuous weather on Sunday, both the Varsity and Lightweight 8+'s were able to race. The Lightweight 8+, directed by coxswain Carly Payne, placed eighth with a time of 18:42.843. The Massachusetts Varsity 8+ made it to the Championship race, led by coxswain Samantha Schnoerr, finished 25th with a time of 18:16.967.
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:
• The first-ever UMass Hall of Famer from the rowing program, Sarah Jones has had a decorated career in college and with the United States National Team and Olympic Team. With the Minutewomen, she was an NCAA Silver Medalist in 1997 in the Varsity 8+. She was a two-time Atlantic 10 Champion in both 1996 and 1997. Jones was a member of the first collegiate team to win the women's 8+ at the Head of the Schuylkill in 1996 and helped UMass to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta Silver Medal in 1996 with the Varsity 8+.
• 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.
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