Rowing / April 3, 2008

UM Rowing Heads To Michigan For Three Weekend Races

April 3, 2008

CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla.– The University of Miami rowing team will make its longest trip of the season this weekend when they travel to the state of Michigan to battle Indiana and Notre Dame Saturday in East Lansing before making the short trip to Ypsilanti to face host Eastern Michigan the following morning.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

“We are looking forward to racing three great opponents on Saturday and Sunday,” head coach Robbie Tenenbaum said. “We are also excited that we are going to get to race some teams from out of our region and have an opportunity to race three times in two days.”

Miami will take on Indiana in the morning session before battling Notre Dame later that afternoon. The UM will battle Indiana in the Varsity Four race at 11:25 a.m. and the 2^nd Varsity Eight race at 11:45 a.m. before the Varsity Eight crews will go at roughly 12:05 p.m. After an hour lunch break, competition resumes in the afternoon with the Hurricanes and the Irish racing at 2:05 pm., 2:25 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.

Sunday’s schedule against Eastern Michigan has the Varsity Eight race slated for 9:15 a.m. and the 2^nd Varsity Eight race at 9:30 a.m. before the Varsity Four’s finish up the weekend with a 9:45 a.m. start time.

This weekend’s trip will be just the second time UM has left Florida this season, with a trip to Charlottesville, Va. for the Rivanna Romp on Nov. 11 as the first and only time the team has left the state.

“Saturday will be a great test for our team,” Tenenbaum said. “Indiana was a team that finished ahead of us in all three NCAA events at last year’s regional championships and Notre Dame is one of the premier programs in the nation.”

Notre Dame, after finishing 12^that the 2007 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, is currently ranked 14^th in this week’s US Rowing/CRCA Coaches Poll. This past weekend, the Irish won two of three races against No. 6 Stanford and No. 18 UCLA before dropping all three races to No. 1 Cal at the Pac-10 Challenge.

Indiana’s Varsity Eight picked up a pair of wins over Dayton and Eastern Michigan this past weekend on its home course at LakeLemon in Bloomington before conditions forced the remainder of the regatta to be cancelled.

“Indiana and Notre Dame are both really well-coached programs and our team is really excited to be included in this race,” Tenenbaum added. “Our young team learned a lot from our races this past weekend against Central Florida and we are glad that we get to test ourselves again so soon.”

Last weekend in Orlando, Miami’s Varsity Four team of Molly Thornton, Karalyn Van Aken, bow Courtney Guy, stroke Julianne Parker and coxswain Ana Cristina Mantilla beat UCF, 732.59-to-7:38.28 while the Knights downed the Hurricanes in the Varsity Eight race, 6:34.79-to-6:44.64.

“This past week’s practices have been spirited, to say the least,” Tenenbaum said. “All of our boats found things to improve on and everyone on the team feels like we have made great progress this past week.”

Temperatures in East Lansing on Saturday are expected to be in the 40’s during the morning races against Indiana before temperatures should increase into the 50’s for the races against Notre Dame during the afternoon. Similar temperatures are expected when UM and Eastern Michigan square off Sunday morning in Ypsilanti.

“Our rowers have been great in all kinds of weather conditions,” Tenenbaum added. “I know that any cold weather will not be a problem for us.”

Next up for the Hurricanes will be the ACC Championships, Saturday, April 19 at LakeHartwell in Clemson, S.C.

This Weekend’s Boat Line Ups

1^st Varsity 8

Bow – Tara Eddings

2 – Monika Sajincic

3 – Beth Krawec

4 – Sarah Medland

5 – Louise Parry

6 – Laura Cordner

7 – Emily Wingrove

Stroke – Kelly Amsler