University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Atlantic 10 Championships
UMass Rowing Claims Second Straight A-10 Championship
May 02, 2015 | Rowing
May 2, 2015
Atlantic 10 Championship: Race Results 
| Team Standings | Photo Gallery 
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - The Massachusetts women's rowing program claimed the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, as the squad recorded 53 points to hold off second place Rhode Island Saturday. The win grants UMass the A-10 automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, California, set to begin May 29.
A pair of first place finishes in the Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 8 events and a silver medal finish in the Varsity 4 event guided UMass to their 15th conference championship in program history. Saturday's win is the second straight year that the Minutewomen won the Atlantic 10 crown.
"This was the most difficult season we have had due to being off of the water for 9 weeks (with poor conditions on the Connecticut River) and having no opportunity to prepare for racing until a week or two ago," head coach Jim Dietz said. "It feels great to defend out Atlantic 10 Championship."
In the decisive Varsity 8 race, UMass finished three seconds ahead of Rhode Island with a time of 6:50.23 to clinch the Atlantic 10 title. The boat consisted of Heather Pekarovich, Lauren St. Pierre, Emily Mann, Marika Kopp, Pippa Edwards, Aiste Balciunaite, Nicole Destefano, Haley York and Allanah Rubi-Mooney.
The Minutewomen also notched a gold medal in the Second Varsity 8 race with a time of 6:55.88, more than six seconds ahead of the second place Saint Joseph's boat. Led by Haley Eovine in the coxswain, the boat of Rachel Boudreau, Sam Wonderlin, Katherine Armstrong, Hadley Irvin, Krysten Menks, Zoe Hill, Carly Zanatta, and Grace Bundy garnered 18 points towards the UMass total.
The Varsity 4 boat of Abigail Raichek, Hallie Dunlap, Sam Kolovson, Natalie Boisvert and Courtney Edson picked up a silver medal in the 4+ event with a time of 7:36.50, five seconds behind first place Rhode Island (07:31.10) to round out the UMass scoring with eight points in the event.
The 2015 Atlantic 10 Champion Minutewomen will conclude the spring season the weekend of May 8-9 when they travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the two-day Dad Vail Regatta.
Atlantic 10 Championship Team Results
1. Massachusetts, 53 points
2. Rhode Island, 47 points
3. Saint Joseph's, 38 points
4. Duquesne, 34 points
5. Dayton, 26 points
6. George Mason, 26 points
7. George Washington, 25 points
8. Fordham, 13 points
9. La Salle, 6 points
