University of Massachusets Athletics
Rowing Hosts Colgate Saturday Morning
March 31, 2011 | Rowing
March 31, 2011
| Massachusetts Vs. Colgate | |
| Date | Saturday, April 2 at 11:30 a.m. (EST) |
| Location | Hadley, Mass. | Connecticut River |
| Competing Teams | Massachusetts & Colgate |
| Results | Row2K |
| Notes | Massachusetts Notes | Colgate Notes |
| Social Media |  
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| UMass Lineup |
TBA |
AMHERST, Mass. - After finishing second at last weekend's Yankee Cup, the UMass rowing team returns to Amherst to host its lone home race of the season against Colgate on Saturday. Racing is set to commence at 11:30 AM with the Raiders on the Connecticut River. With only two weeks until the Atlantic 10 Championships, the Minutewomen will be looking to strengthen each of their boats in preparation for the April 16 A-10 race.
Checking The Forecast:
• Heavy snow is expected to enter the Amherst area on Friday, and could effect racing conditions for Saturday morning's competition. Temperatures for Saturday will range from the high 30's to high 40's, with winds reaching upwards of 15 mph.
Scouting Colgate:
• The Raiders enter this weekend's race fresh off a Varsity 8+ petite win at the Murphy Cup. The Colgate boat finished just .23 seconds ahead of second place George Mason with a time of 6:58.11. Also entered in the Varsity 8+ final at the Murphy Cup was Jacksonville, Delaware, Marist and Atlantic 10 foe Temple.
• The Raiders placed second (7:49.30) in the Varsity 4+ final, just behind Villanova. Colgate is led by eighth year head coach Greg Kruczynski, who served as an assistant coach for UMass from 1999-2004. Kruczynski has also a graduate assistant at UMass for two seasons, where he helped coach the Minutewomen to a Varsity 8+ silver medal at the 1997 NCAA Championships.
Last Time Out: UMass Finishes Second At Yankee Cup
• The UMass rowing team placed second in three of its six races, while the Varsity 4+ won its heat to lead the Minutewomen to a second place team finish overall at the Yankee Cup in the opening weekend of the season. In competition with Connecticut, New Hampshire and host school Rhode Island, the Varsity 4+ finished seven seconds ahead of the second place Rams to earn their first victory of the season.
• The first Massachusetts Varsity 4+ boat took first with a time of 9:36.96 while the second Four race was controlled by Rhode Island, which won by 17 seconds with UMass crossing the finish at 9:36.96. The Minutewomen also had two boats entered in Eights races with Sam Schnoerr's boat falling back to fourth place with a time of 8:07.56, 18 seconds behind URI's winning time of 7:49.13. The Second Varsity 8+ gave the Rams a fight before succumbing to a second place finish at 8:23.13. The Novice 8+ saw their first collegiate action on Saturday, battling Rhode Island to a second place finish with a time of 9:17.78.
Up Next:
• Following the race with Colgate, the Minutewomen will compete in its first two-day regatta of the season when the team will travel to Camden, N.J for the Knecht Cup. Emily Boucher won the singles race at the Knecht Cup last season.
UMass In The National Polls:
• In the first USRowing Collegiate Poll, the Lightweight 8+ is ranked eighth nationally, the lone Atlantic 10 team included in the poll. The boat was also included in the poll throughout last season, and were ranked as high as No. 9 during the final three weeks of the season.
The 2011 UMass Minutewomen:
• This season's roster sports 20 upperclassmen, including 11 seniors and two graduate students, who hope to use past experiences to lead their younger teammates to consistent success. Seniors Liz Euiler and Samantha Schnoerr will serve as co-captains for the 2011 season. Schnoerr, a coxswain, and Euiler are two of the seven returning members from last season's Varsity Eight boat.
• The UMass Second Varsity Eight also returns several key members from last season's lineup, including seniors Carly Payne (coxswain) and Kelsey Schachter. Joining them is junior Emily Boucher, who raced at the 2010 Under 23 World Championships in the Lightweight Single Sculls over the summer, and Megan Donovan, a 2010 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team member.
• Joining the veterans are 20 freshman rowers, who will compete in various novice boats throughout the season.
The Spring Schedule:
• UMass will begin the 2011 spring season with a scrimmage against the Coast Guard Academy on March 19 at the Connecticut River. From there, the Minutewomen will head to Kingston, R.I. for the Yankee Cup, a regatta that the team finished second at last season. A new addition to the season slate, Colgate, will travel to Amherst for an April 2 date with the Minutewomen at 8 AM, again on the Connecticut River.
• Massachusetts will then begin a string of three straight races in Camden, N.J., beginning with the two-day Knecht Cup, where junior Emily Boucher won the singles event last season. UMass will remain in New Jersey for the 16th Annual Atlantic 10 Championships on April 16 on the Cooper River. The 2011 conference championships will be the second season that only the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four boat finishes will count towards the final team standings.
• After competing with Holy Cross in Worcester on April 23, the Massachusetts Lightweight Eight will look to defend their 2010 first place finishes at the Dad Vail Regatta (May 13-14) and USRowing Collegiate Championships (May 23-24).
UMass Represented At C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints:
• Eight members of the UMass women's rowing team competed in the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints on Sunday at Agganis Arena in Boston. Five Minutewomen were entered in the Women's Openweight at the World Indoor Rowing Championships while three Massachusetts rowers, each of whom raced as part of the Lightweight 8+ that took home the gold at last season's Dad Vail Regatta, competed in the Women's Lightweight Open. Megan Donovan led all UMass rowers with a ninth place finish in lightweight competition, while Adrienne Breef-Pilz placed 31st amongst Women's Open competitors.
• To read the full release and view results from UMass' performance at the C.R.A.S.H.-B's, click here.
UMass Rowing Holds Boat Dedication:
• During halftime of the men's basketball game against Maine on December 8, the UMass Rowing team held a boat dedication ceremony at half-court, honoring former student-athletes Michelle Whitcomb-Borkhuis and Wendy Wilbur. During their time at UMass, both women were instrumental in providing the building blocks for what makes the Massachusetts Rowing team successful today. The Minutewomen also dedicated a boat to current UMass Hall of Famer Sarah Jones earlier this year.
• Michelle Whitcomb was a seven-time member of United States Women's National Rowing Team from 1997 to 2003. She was a ten-time U.S. National Champion and won the Canadian Henley in 1996 as well as the prestigious Head of the Charles in 1997. Michelle demonstrated excellent versatility, competing at National levels as both an openweight, a lightweight, a sweep rower and a sculler.
• Wendy Wilbur was a part of the UMass 1997 Women's Eight that placed a historic second at the Inaugural NCAA Women's Rowing Championship. That year she was also named a USRowing Academic All American.
• To read the full release on the UMass Rowing Boat Dedication, 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.
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