University of Massachusets Athletics
Rowing Prepares For Head Of The Housatonic On Saturday
October 07, 2010 | Rowing
Oct. 7, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. -
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After rain washed away the UMass Invitational last weekend, the Minutewomen rowing team will travel to Shelton, Conn. for the 16th annual Head of the Housatonic this Saturday. The race is one of the largest single-day head competitions in the nation, attracting various levels of skill to the 2.7 mile course located in Indian Well State Park.
Projected Lineup:
Open 1x: Emily Boucher
Open 2-: Elizabeth Euiler & Chelsea Wakeham
First 4+: Carly Payne (cox), Ali DiMatteo, Amanda Doolin, Kendall Bennett & Katelyn Allocco
Second 4+: Em Chiu (cox), Terri O'Brien, Katie VonZweck, Angela Stigliano & Kaitlin MacKenzie
Openweight 8+: Chiu (cox), DiMatteo, Doolin, Bennett, Allocco, O'Brien, VonZweck, Stigliano & MacKenzie
Lightweight 8+: Payne (cox), Euiler, Wakeham, Donovan, Gordon, Shapero, Amy Nash, Amber Henry & Kim Patrick
Checking The Forecast:

• After rain moved out of the area Wednesday afternoon, sunny skies are expected for the remainder of the week, including Saturday where temperatures could reach the mid-60's. Winds for the race are not expected to exceed 15 mph.
Last Season At The Head Of The Housatonic:
• Last season at the Head of the Housatonic, Julia Richter finished third in the single's race with a time of 20:33.983 while Samantha Smith placed fifth (22:09.628). The two UMass boats entered in the women's pair placed first and second, with Amanda Doolin and Alexandra DiMatteo (20:12.495) and Teresa O'Brien and Katherine Kern (20:21.425).
• The Minutewomen had three boats in the women's fours with UMass finishing sixth, seventh and tenth. Carly Payne, Jen Coyne, Kelsey Schachter, Isabella Donadio and Megan Rodgers finished with a time of 18:45.486, just above the other two Massachusetts entries.
• In the women's lightweight singles, the Minutewomen swept the top four finishes, with Emily Boucher placing first with a time of 20:27.428, ahead of Elizabeth Euiler, Tory Gordan and Chelsea Wakeham. The women's doubles, raced by Ellis Brewster and Jen Dolan finished fourth with a time of 24:48.226.
• In the women's eight, UMass finished seventh, eighth and tenth while the women's quad finished second and third in their race.
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 Races In Under-23 World Rowing Championships:
• 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.