University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Knecht Cup: Prelims
Varsity Boats Reach Semifinals On Day One Of Knecht Cup
April 10, 2011 | Rowing
April 9, 2011
CAMDEN, N.J. - The UMass rowing team got off to a quick start at Day One of the 2011 Knecht Cup on Saturday as all varsity boats reached semifinal competition. The Minutewomen had seven top-two finishes during the preliminary heats in the morning session before semifinal action in the afternoon. Massachusetts will return to the water for championship heats on Sunday morning, beginning at 7 AM.
The Pair tandem of Kelsey Schachter and Kaitlyn MacKenzie set the tone early in the day for UMass with a second place finish in their event with a time of 8:53.10, finishing six seconds behind first place Fairfield. Angela Stigliano and Emily Hagan also raced in the Pair event, finishing second in their preliminary heat at 9:01.29. In semifinal races later in the day, Schachter and MacKenzie snuck into the Grand Final with a third place finish (9:09.82) while Stigliano and Hagan also advanced with another second place finish 8:58.44)
The Minutewomen entered two boats into the Varsity 4+ event as both sets reached the semifinal with second (8:24.01) and third place finishes. The UMass A boat continued its early season success with a first place finish in the semifinals with a time of 8:09.31 to advance to Sunday's Grand Final. UMass' B boat struggled during its semifinal competition, falling to fifth place (8:40.88) in a race with Old Dominion, Boston College, Drexel and Connecticut.
In Varsity Eight action, UMass reached the semifinals following a tight preliminary race which saw the Minutewomen finish in third place (7:22.92) three seconds ahead of Marist. The boat went against fierce competition in the semifinal heat, dropping Massachusetts to fifth place and down to the Third Level final. The Second Varsity Eight also reached the semifinals, and followed that up with a second place finish to reach the Grand Final with a time of 7:05.01.
