University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Knecht Cup: Champ. Heats
Varsity 4+ Races To Gold At Knecht Cup
April 10, 2011 | Rowing
April 10, 2011
CAMDEN, N.J. - In the final race of the weekend, the UMass Varsity Four beat out Buffalo to capture the gold in the Grand Final of the Knecht Cup on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. In a seven boat race due to a protest following semifinal competition, the Minutewoman team of Em Chiu (coxswain), Teresa O'Brien, Meredith Kearney, Rachel Spielberg and Adrienne Breef-Pilz clocked in with a time of 7:46.20 to take first place. Massachusetts will head back to Camden and the Cooper River next Saturday for the Atlantic 10 Championships, where the Minutewomen will look to secure their 14th conference crown.
Co-captain Elizabeth Euiler and Megan Donovan set the tone for UMass early on Sunday with an open water victory in the Double with a time of 8:04.30, beating out a fellow Massachusetts boat (9:01.00), two Colgate entries and Villanova by 20 seconds. The Minutewomen also finished in second place in the Quad (7:29.85).
The tightest race of the day came as the Second Varsity Eight went toe-to-toe with Wisconsin and Delaware with a time of 6:58.00 to claim the bronze medal. Competing in the Second Varsity 8+ were Carly Payne (coxswain), Euiler, Chelsea Wakeham, Emily Boucher, Kelsey Schachter, Gabrielle Hayward, Beth Paret and Donovan.
With both UMass Pair's reaching the Grand Final following Saturday's semifinal action, the Minutewomen crossed the finish in fourth (8:46.32) and sixth (8:55.24) place, respectively, in competition with Duke, Fairfield, Kansas and Pittsburgh.
The Novice Four rowed to a second place finish in their Grand Final race with a time of 8:24.86, trailing West Virginia by just three seconds to take the silver. Also racing on Sunday was the Varsity Eight, who competed in the Third Level Final where the boat finished in fourth place (7:06.15).
