Sauer Named Regional Coach of the Year; Five Virginia Rowers Earn CRCA All-Region Honors

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Kevin Sauer, head coach of Virginia’s No. 1-ranked rowing team, has been named the South Region Coach of the Year by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), the organization announced Tuesday (May 25). Additionally, Desiree Burns, Jennifer Cromwell, Katrin Reinert, Helen Tompkins and Sidney Thorsten garnered all-region honors.

This is the third Region Coach of the Year honor for Sauer, now in his 15th season as the head coach of Virginia’s varsity program. He also earned the honor in 2005 and 2007. Sauer was also named the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, earning that distinction for the sixth time.

This season, Sauer led the Cavaliers to their first-ever No. 1 national ranking, their 10th ACC Championship and their fourth-consecutive overall team title at the South/Central Regional Championships.

He has guided Virginia to 13 appearances in the NCAA Championships and six boats have been crowned NCAA Champions during his tenure.

According to the CRCA, the Coach of the Year Award is intended to recognize a head coach that fits one or more of the following criteria: Outstanding success during the current season, team improvement from the prior season, team potential and a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach.

Burns, Cromwell, Reinert and Thorsten were named to the All-South Region First Team. Burns, a senior from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., rowed with the Varsity Eight that was the regional and conference champion. It is her second regional honor, as she was named to the first team in 2009.

Cromwell, a senior and co-captain out of Bellevue, Wash., stroked the Varsity Eight that won the South/Central Region and the ACC Championship. This is her third-consecutive first team all-region honor.

Reinert, hailing from Stuttgart, Germany, rowed with the South/Central Regional Champion and ACC Champion Varsity Eight. A newcomer to the Cavalier rowing program this year, it is her first regional honor.

Thorsten, a sophomore coxswain out of Atlanta, Ga., earned her first-career regional honor. Coxswain of the Varsity Eight for both of her seasons at UVa, she led the Cavaliers to their fourth-consecutive South/Central Regional Championship and the ACC title in 2010.

Tompkins, meanwhile, was named to the All-South Region Second Team. A native of Friendswood, Texas, Tompkins rowed with the regional and conference champion Varsity Eight. It is the first regional honor of her career.

Nominated student-athletes are evaluated on the strength of their team’s regional finish, coaches recommendations and 2,000-meter erg score. Nominees must be eligible student-athletes who have competed in their teams’ varsity boat in 75 percent of races this season.

These athletes will be eligible for All-America selection following the NCAA Rowing Championships.

Virginia begins competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships on May 28 in Gold River, Calif.

2010 CRCA All-Region Selections
All Central Region First Team
Emily Regan – Michigan State
Michelle Mussett – Michigan State
Laura Cowal – Michigan State
Ashley Kroll – Michigan
Adrienne Mecham – Michigan
Vicky Opitz – Wisconsin
Katy Haver – Wisconsin
Charlott Goldstein – Ohio State University
Jess Novack – University of Iowa
Stephanie Gretsch – Notre Dame
Andrea Wensits – Indiana
Coxswain – Amanda McGeachie – Michigan State

All Central Region Second Team
Victoria Woodard – Michigan State
Melisa Ongun – Michigan
Emily Eiffert – Michigan
Grace Latz – Wisconsin
Sara Wallace – Ohio State
Katy Kroll – University of Iowa
Lydia Caldwell – University of Dayton
Janelle Mitchell – Eastern Michigan University

All South Region First Team
Jennifer Cromwell – Virginia
Katrin Reinert – Virginia
Desiree Burns – Virginia
Brittany Cummings – Clemson
Michelle Nance – Clemson
Laura Miller – Tennessee
Erika Lauderdale – Tennessee
Erin Bennett – Louisville
Rebecca Staff – Oklahoma
Alexandra Japhet – Duke
Chelsey Lauzon – University of Central Florida
Stephanie Rogers – Tulsa
Coxswain – Sidney Thorsten – Virginia

All South Region Second Team
Helen Tompkins – Virginia
Zsofia Bende – Clemson
Becca Brown – Clemson
Karoline Mikolajewski – Tennessee
Lauren Mensch – Louisville
Chelsea Moore – Oklahoma
Jennifer VanderMaarel – Texas
Catherine Campbell – SMU
Coxswain – Kate Bruggeling – Clemson

All Mid-Atlantic Region First Team
Sarah Hendershot – Princeton
Lauren Wilkinson – Princeton
Ashton Brown – Princeton
Natassya Bedos – Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Donald – Pennsylvania
Cecelia Madsen – Cornell
Erica Crump – Cornell
Samantha Warren – Columbia
Natalie Mastracci – Syracuse
Helen Becz – Rutgers
Lauren Schmetterling – Colgate
Regine Adrien – Delaware
Coxswain – Ariel Frost – Princeton

All Mid-Atlantic Second Team
Michaela Strand – Princeton
Rebecca Donald – Pennsylvania
Kelly Burke – Pennsylvania
Taylor Goetzinger – Cornell
Veronique Bourassa – Columbia
Sydney Axson – Syracuse
Olivia Knodt – Bucknell
Christina Lanouette – U.S. Naval Academy
Coxswain – Rachel Pattison – Pennsylvania

All West Region First Team
Iva Obradovic – University of California, Berkeley
Mary Jeghers – University of California, Berkeley
Kara Kohler – University of California, Berkeley
Elle Logan – Stanford
Lindsay Meyer – Stanford
Liene Bertasjus – University of Southern California
Ivana Filipovic – University of Southern California
Alexandra Bolt – University of California, Los Angeles
Katie Dick – Washington State
Neta Fischer – Oregon State University
Holly Hopkins – California State University, Sacramento
Coxswain – Alaizah Koorji – University of California, Los Angeles

All West Region Second Team
Taryn O’Connell – University of California, Berkeley
Erika Roddy – Stanford
Grace Luczak – Stanford
Anna Specjalska – University of Southern California
Britta Syverson – University of California, Los Angeles
Hannah Patrick – University of San Diego
Casi Boyle – San Diego State University
Coxswain – Chelsea Lucas – University of California, Berkeley

All New England Region First Team
Taylor Ritzel – Yale
Tess Gerrand – Yale
Alice Henly – Yale
Hannah Malvin – Brown
Lauren Libraind – Brown
Emily Dreissigacker – Dartmouth
Sarah Alexander – Dartmouth
Laura Huppert – Radcliffe
Jennifer Forbes – Northeastern
Jenessa Redfern – University of Rhode Island
Alaina Krumbach – Boston University
Laura Petty – Boston College
Coxswain – Mia Kanak – Yale

All New England Region Second Team
Caroline Nash – Yale
Corlis Gross – Brown
Hope Richardson – Brown
Christine Baugh – Radcliffe
Veronica Townsend – Northeastern
Gretchen Stern – University of Connecticut
Coxswain – Rebecca Fein – Brown