AMHERST, Mass. -
With only two weeks remaining in the fall season, the UMass rowing team will travel to Hanover, N.H. to race in the Dartmouth Head Regatta on Saturday. While the varsity team is taking a break from competition, the novice squad will be making the trip looking for a successful weekend. The Minutewomen are coming off a strong weekend at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs last Saturday, as Massachusetts won three races against tough opponents.
Last Season At The Dartmouth Novice Head:
The UMass rowing team competed in the Green Monster Regatta at Dartmouth University last weekend. The novices entered two boats in the eights race, finishing third after combining their times, while the varsity team did not make the trip.
Sophomore Emily Boucher finished third in the single (16:47.53) and UMass received wins from the Lightweight 4+ and Lightweight 8+ to pace the UMass last weekend at the Head of the Fish regatta in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Minutewomen won three races overall during the weekend, including the double along with the Lightweight 4+, Lightweight 8+.
Massachusetts entered three boats in the Double, and took the top two spots with a win from Megan Donovan and Elizabeth Euiler (14:38.97) and a second place finish from Kendall Bennett and Amanda Doolin (14:52.93). Teresa O'Brien and Beth Paret rounded out the UMass boats in seventh place with a time of 16:19.27. Donovan, Euiler, Boucher and senior Chelsea Wakeham placed second in the Quad with a time of 14:37.25, just behind Colgate.
In a battle with Sacred Heart and Williams the UMass Lightweight 4+, coxswained by Caitlyn O'Leary, narrowly captured gold with a time of 15:49.03, just ahead of the Pioneer boat (15:50.22). Amy Nash, who raced in the Lightweight 4+, also competed in the Lightweight Double with teammate Kim Patrick, finishing first with a time of 15:49.24 against two boats from Tufts. Both the Varsity 8+ and Novice 4+ placed sixth in its races with times of 13:39.02 and 17:36.65, respectively.
Tory Gordan competed in the Lightweight Single over the weekend, finishing third with a time of 18:51.15. Rachel Spielberg and Adrienne Breef-Pilz raced in the Rec 1x, and Breef-Pilz finished third (21:16.06) and Spielberg sixth (22:32.49). The Lightweight 8+ continued its success from last season with a runaway win over the Jumbos and Sacred Heart with a time of 13:42.69.
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.
UMass Rowing Featured In Latest UMass Television Commercial:
The UMass Rowing team was recently featured in the latest University of Massachusetts television commercial promoting the UMass system. The commercial, which displays the Minutewomen on the Connecticut River, focuses on how the University of Massachusetts is a "Truly World Class" institution. The ad is narrated by Bill Pullman, a UMass graduate and one of Hollywood's busiest actors.
"'Truly World Class' shows you a small slice of the University that was recently named one of the best in the world in the Times of London's 2010 World University Rankings," said UMass President Jack Wilson. For a link to the commercial, click here.
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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