Notre Dame claimed victory in two of three races against both Stanford and UCLA on the first day of the Pac-10 Challenge in California. The women's second varsity eight and varsity four crews beat Stanford, while the varsity eight and second varsity eight boats beat UCLA.
Notre Dame's varsity eight boat crew of Lauren Buck, Allison Marsh, Laura Pearson, Amanda Polka, Mary Quinn, Kendra Short, Julie Sobolewski, Christine Trezza and coxswain Kelsey Otero competed against Stanford in its first race of the day. The Irish went into the race ranked No. 14 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing poll, and the Cardinal were ranked No. 10. However, the Irish finished with a time of 7:02.45, falling short by seven seconds to the Cardinal's time of 6:55.0. The Irish regrouped and were able to claim victory in the afternoon against 13th ranked UCLA. The Bruins finished in 7:31.6, while the Irish claimed victory with a time of 7:25.1.
Notre Dame's second varsity eight crew of Erica Copeland, Emily Crosby, Elli Greybar, Brittney Kelly, Kristan Madison, Carol Ann Michel, Anni Nowhitney, Casey Robinson and coxswain Stephanie Szeged defeated Stanford in the opening race, and UCLA in the second race. Notre Dame beat Stanford by just less than 13 seconds in the first race, posting a time of 7:13.8, and beat UCLA in the second race by just over two seconds, posting a time of 7:28.9.
The varsity four boat of Mallory Glass, Ankica Jedry, Bridget Leone, Mary Kate McNamara and coxswain Sarah Keithley beat Stanford by more than 30 seconds in its opening race. The Irish finished with a time of 8:38.0, while the Cardinal finished in 9:11.6. In its second race, the crew fell short to UCLA with a time of 8:54.1, while the Bruins finished in 8:41.1.
Notre Dame also competed in the Lubbers Cup in Michigan this past weekend. The Irish claimed victory in the varsity eight, 2/3 varsity eight, varsity four B, and novice four races.
The Irish took first and fourth in the varsity eight race. The A crew won the five boat race with a time of 6:55.40, while the B boat finished fourth with a time of 7:11.31.
The Irish crew also won the second/third varsity eight race. Notre Dame posted a time of 7:09.28, which was well ahead of the second and third place teams of Rochester and Grand Valley State.
Notre Dame won the varsity four B race with a time of 7:49.98, more than 20 seconds ahead of Rochester and Grand Valley State A and B.
The novice four boat beat Grand Valley A, Grand Valley B, Grand Valley C, and Rochester with a time of 7:50.10.
The novice eight boat finished second to Grand Valley in the three-boat race with a time of 7:38.27.
The Irish varsity four A crew of finished third in its race with a time of 7:59.36.
