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Five Cavaliers Named To 2011 CRCA All-Region Teams
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 3 Virginia rowing team placed five Cavaliers on the 2011 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-South Region teams, the organization announced Tuesday (May 24). Junior coxswain Sidney Thorsten (Atlanta, Ga.) along with senior Christine Roper (Reading, St. James, Jamaica), junior Martha Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) and sophomore Kristine O’Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) earned first-team honors, while senior Claudia Blandford (Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada) was named to the second team.
Thorsten, Virginia’s Varsity Eight coxswain for the last three seasons, is a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection (2010 and 2011) and is a repeat selection to the All-South Region first team (2010). In 2010, Thorsten was named a second-team All-American by the CRCA.
This is Roper’s first selection to the All-South Region first team. A member of the Varsity Eight this spring, she was named to the 2011 All-ACC team.
Kuzzy, a tri-captain this season, was an All-ACC selection in 2011 and was named the 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year. A member of the Varsity Eight this spring, it is Kuzzy’s first all-region honor.
O’Brien is also earning her first all-region honor. She was the 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year and a member of the 2011 All-ACC team. She has rowed with the Varsity Eight during her two seasons as a Cavalier.
Blandford, making her first appearance on an all-region team, was a 2011 All-ACC selection. She was selected as a captain for the 2011 season and has rowed with the Varsity Eight this spring.
The CRCA all-region awards recognize the outstanding performance of rowers and coxswains from each of the five regions (New England, Mid-Atlantic, West, South and Central). 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.
The all-region award winners will be eligible for All-America selection following the NCAA Rowing Championships. The NCAA regatta takes place May 27-29 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Virginia, the 2011 ACC Champion, will make its 14th all-time appearance at the national championship this weekend. The Cavaliers won the 2010 team title, the program’s first. UVa’s Varsity Four also won its race in 2010, becoming the seventh Virginia boat to win a national championship.
2011 CRCA All-Region Selections
All-South Region First Team
Kristine O’Brien, Virginia
Christine Roper, Virginia
Martha Kuzzy, Virginia
Laura D’Urso, Clemson
Liz Robb, Clemson
Jennifer VanderMaarel, Texas
Lauren McCaig, Texas
Erika Lauderdale, Tennessee
Alex Japhet, Duke
Chelsey Lauzon, UCF
Nicole Furmanek, Oklahoma
Sidney Thorsten, Virginia, coxswain
All-South Region Second Team
Claudia Blandford, Virginia
Heather Cummings, Clemson
Rebecca Brown, Clemson
Jackie Gorcyca, Texas
Hilary Epes, Tennessee
Emily Theys, Duke
Alissa Kranz, Alabama
Danielle Fournier, Jacksonville University
Katie Bruggeling, Clemson, coxswain
South Region Head Coach of the Year: Carie Graves, Texas
South Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Caroline King, Texas
All-Central Region First Team
Laura Cowal, Michigan State
Kellie Lapointe, Michigan State
Stephanie Bochenek, Michigan State
Ulrike Denker, Ohio State
Claudia Schiwy, Ohio State
Felice Mueller, Michigan
Natalie Eisermann, Michigan
Carol Ann Michel, Notre Dame
Vanessa Kleiss, Wisconsin
Asja Zero, Indiana
Amanda McGeachie, Michigan State, coxswain
All-Central Region Second Team
Alex Maibusch, Michigan State
Claire-Louise Bode, Ohio State
Caro Helmholz, Ohio State
Julia Darnton, Michigan
Stephanie Gretsch, Notre Dame
Rachel Buchholtz, Wisconsin
Traci Smiley, Kansas State
Jennifer Entin, Michigan, coxswain
Central Region Head Coach of the Year: Andrew Teitelbaum, Ohio State
Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Kate Strum, Michigan
All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team
Ashton Brown, Princeton
Lauren Wilkinson, Princeton
Michaela Strand, Princeton
Taylor Goetzinger, Cornell
Anna Psiaki, Cornell
Meredith Mead, Columbia
Alexandra Hammerberg, Columbia
Rebecca Donald, Pennsylvania
Janine Ford, Rutgers
Shannon Gribbons, West Virginia
Maureen McAuliffe, George Mason
Lila Flavin, Princeton, coxswain
All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team
Emily Reynolds, Princeton
Natalie Wingerning, Cornell
Leigh Archer, Cornell
Nikki Bourassa, Columbia
Kelly Burke, Pennsylvania
Kate Thomson, Colgate
Amy Davis, US Naval Academy
Jeannette Friedman, Cornell, coxswain
Mid-Atlantic Region Head Coach of the Year: Lori Dauphiny, Princeton
Mid-Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Dan Wolleben, Bucknell
All-New England Region First Team
Tessie Allen, Brown
Tessa Gobbo, Brown
Casey Kelsey, Brown
Emily Dreissigacker, Dartmouth
Stephanie Madner, Yale
Caroline Nash, Yale
Liv Coffey, Harvard
Veronica Townsend, Northeastern
Megan O’Brien, Rhode Island
Ellie Smith, Brown, coxswain
All-New England Region Second Team
Allison Courtin, Brown
Katherine Roddy, Dartmouth
Cathy McDermott, Yale
Liz Soutter, Harvard
Laura Carroll, Northeastern
Brittany Tovee, Boston University
Erin Roche, Boston College
Rachel Buff, Northeastern, coxswain
New England Region Head Coach of the Year: Wendy Levash, Dartmouth
New England Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Cory Bosworth, Harvard
All-West Region First Team
Kara Kohler, California
Mary Jeghers, California
Kristina Lofman, California
Elle Logan, Stanford
Erika Roddy, Stanford
Ivana Filipovic, Southern California
Maria Wilgotsson, Southern California
Corinna Sharick, Washington State
Britta Syverson, UCLA
Hannah Patrick, San Diego
Nicole Weinrich, Stanford, coxswain
All-West Region Second Team
Elise Etern, California
Anna Dawson, Stanford
Grace Luczak, Stanford
Lenka Vrecnikova, Southern California
Sarah Wolff, Washington State
Dionne Licudine, Southern California, coxswain
West Region Head Coach of the Year: Dave O’Neill, California
West Region Assistant Coach of the Year: Anna Cohen, Saint Mary’s College of California