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April 26, 2003
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University of Virginia women’s rowing team won the second varsity eight race and dropped a close race to nationally-ranked opponents Radcliffe and Yale in the first varsity eight competition on the Charles River on Saturday (April 26). UVa also finished second in the first varsity four, the second varsity four, the first novice eight and the second novice eight races.
The races were run in rough water stirred by a strong tailwind on a cold and rainy morning.
“We faced challenges from the weather and extremely fast opponents, ” said Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer. “I’m proud of the heart with which all of our women rowed. It’s clear we have some tuning to do in the weeks leading up to Eastern Sprints, but now we know where we’re headed. The second varsity eight raced impressively.”
The Cavaliers won the second varsity eight with a time of 6:35.2 followed by Radcliffe (6:36.7) and Yale (6:44.8). Virginia fell behind Radcliffe a length at the start, but slowly worked its way back into the race and sprinted to the victory. UVa’s second varsity eight crew was comprised of coxswain Danielle Sewell, Andrea Czarkowski, Jessie Haury, Katie Yrazabal, Tammy Clark, Margaret Matia, Kelley Jesnig, Mary Dobmeier and Crystal MacLeod.
Radcliffe won the first varsity eight race with a time of 6:24.6, while Yale finished second in 6:26.4 and Virginia was third (6:27.7). The Cavaliers’ first varsity eight also fell behind at the start and pushed Yale hard in the last 300 meters to close within 1.3 seconds. Radcliffe’s first varsity eight is ranked third in the nation, Yale is ranked ninth and Virginia is ranked 13th. UVa’s first varsity eight crew was made up of coxswain Betty Shumaker, Jen Reck, Lindsay Shoop, Molly Baker, Julie McQueen, Beth Clark, Claudia Durkin, Carolyn McMillan and Genevieve Cauchon-Voyer.
Yale won the first varsity four race with a time of 7:23.9 and Virginia was second at 7:28.3. Radcliffe finished third with a time of 7:32.0. The Cavaliers’ faced a strong start from Yale, but worked their way quickly into a close race using a strong base cadence to narrow the gap. UVa’s early sprint moved them back into the Bulldogs, but Yale answered and pulled out to the 4.4-second victory. Virginia’s first varsity four crew was comprised of coxswain Launa Forehand, Catelyn Coyle, Julie Creighton, Kelley Dougherty and Jess Busch.
Radcliffe won the second varsity four with a time of 7:34.7 followed by UVa (7:38.6) and Yale (8:11.0). The Cavaliers led briefly away from the line, but struggled to fall into a good base cadence. Virginia was side by side with Radcliffe for the first 1,000 meters, but at that point Radcliffe pulled away and controlled the rest of the race. UVa’s second varsity four crew was made up of coxswain Janice Verbosky, Callie Spencer, Dawn Placek, Abby Lynch and Jenn Furstenau.
In the first novice eight competition, Yale won with a time of 6:44.6 followed by Virginia (6:50.2) and Radcliffe (6:51.0). The three crews fought seat for seat three boats across until the third 500 meters when Yale powered away to a half-length lead. The Cavaliers worked their way through Radcliffe and held on to a narrow second place finish. UVa’s first novice eight crew was comprised of coxswain Karen Richardson, Katie Verhey, Christina Berry, Kim Maxfield, Lexie Zaborowski, Alissa Rubin, Carrie Hatter, Catherine Thrasher and Lauren Cruickshank.
Radcliffe won the second novice eight race with a time of 7:06.1 followed by Virginia (7:11.6) and Northeastern (7:37.0). The Cavaliers moved quickly past Northeastern and held onto the stern of Radcliffe until the very end of the race. UVa’s second novice eight crew was comprised of coxswain Kristina Caudle, Anna Capetanakis, Bridget Barry, Monica Martinez, Lauren Frick, Emily Domenech, Christina Offutt, Holly Gurgle and Mary Copland.
RESULTS1V4Yale 7:23.9UVa 7:28.3Radcliffe 7:32.0
1N8Yale 6:44.6UVa 6:50.2Radcliffe 6:51.0
1V8Radcliffe 6:24.6Yale 6:26.4UVa 6:27.7
2V8UVa 6:35.2Radcliffe 6:36.7Yale 6:44.8
2N8Radcliffe 7:06.1UVa 7:11.6Northeastern 7:37.0
2V4Radcliffe 7:34.7UVa 7:38.6Yale 8:11.0