October 31, 2006

Amherst, MA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- It was a windy, rainy weekend for the Massachusetts women's crew team in upstate New York. The Minutewomen competed in the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y.

Saturday's chilly temperatures, torrential rains, and gale-force winds did not keep UMass from recording two first place finishes. However, the inclement weather was severe enough on Sunday to cancel the remaining races.

The first of two wins on the day belonged to the UMass open quad. The boat consisted of sophomore Sarah Marsan and juniors Hannah Brewster, Ellen Maskrey and Tara Guinan.

The Minutewomen rowed the course in a time of 12:04.30, blowing the competition away by more than 45 seconds. The Saratoga Rowing Association finished in second with a time of 12:52.59, while Skidmore College rounded out the top three with a time of 13:09.75.

The womens open eight also emerged victorious on the day, competing against more than 20 other boats.

The open crew includes freshmen Airlina Burrill and Haley Fitzgerald, sophomores Dana Pulda and Marsan, juniors Maskrey, Brewster and Kristin Boyce and senior Gabrielle Papineau. Junior Tara Guinan served as the coxswain for the race.

Massachusetts finished with a time of 11:34.79, just ahead of second place Williams at 11:38.55 and third-place Colgate, who finished in 11:43.99.

UMass recorded an impressive fifth-place finish in the women's open four-final. The four rowers were Burrill, sophomore Mariah McCormick, Marsan and Papineau. Maskrey served as the coxswain.

The Minutewomen were competing against 34 other boats, and finished with a time of 12:56.29. Williams took first place with a time of 12:44.43, while Buffalo came in second at 12:44.56.

The UMass lightweight four also experienced success on Saturday, finishing third. It rowed the course in a time of 14:10.04. Buffalo won the race with a time of 14:04.38, while Fairfield came in second at 14:05.97.

Brewster competed in the women's open single for UMass. The 21-year-old Brewster, hailing from Plymouth, Mass., finished the race in second place with a time of 14:10.82.

UMass also entered junior Anna Malinkevich in the women's lightweight single. The Shrewsbury, Mass. native finished the race with a third-place time of 14:38.23.

A boat from the GMS Rowing Center took first with a time of 14:14.78, while a St. Catharine's Rowing Club boat took second, finishing in 14:30.79.

The UMass junior varsity eight battled the elements to a second-place finish late in the day on Saturday. The Minutewomen finished with a time of 12:23.52 just behind Hobart and William Smith, who finished in 12:09.08. Colgate rounded out the top three with a time of 12:46.34.

The novice boats also experienced success over the weekend. The novice eight finished in sixth place, while the novice four came in first.

Overall, Massachusetts head coach Jim Dietz was pleased with his crew's performance.

"It was a great wet weekend," he said. "Lots of hot chili and apple cider, and the results were good for our team."

The Minutewomen have two races left in their fall season, a novice race with Dartmouth and Yale on the weekend of Nov. 11, and The Boston University Invitational on the weekend of Nov.18.

(C) 2006 Massachusetts Daily Collegian via CSTV U-WIRE