April 7, 2011

AMHERST, Mass. -

Massachusetts At The Knecht Cup
Date	April 9-10 at 7:00 a.m. (EST)
Location	Camden, N.J. | Cooper River
Lane Assignments	Schedule & Lane Assignments
Results	Realtime Results
Notes	Massachusetts Notes
Social Media
UMass Lineup	TBA

AMHERST, Mass. - Coming off a sweep of Colgate last weekend on the Connecticut River, the UMass rowing team will head to Camden, N.J. for the Knecht Cup beginning Saturday morning at 7 AM. This will be the first two-day regatta for the Minutewomen this season and will serve as a final tune-up before next week's Atlantic 10 Championships, which will also be held on the Cooper River. Massachusetts has entered boats in multiple races for the upcoming competition, including the Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+, Lightweight 8+ and the Pair.

Checking The Forecast:
• Rowers should expect favorable racing conditions throughout the weekend in Camden, as temperatures should reach the high 50's on Saturday and high 60's on Sunday. Winds for the weekend should not exceed 10 miles per hour.

Last Time Out: UMass Sweeps Three Races Against Colgate
• The UMass rowing team hosted the Colgate Raiders last Saturday in its lone home competition of the season, sweeping all three races on the Connecticut River. The Minutewomen placed first in the Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+.

• Massachusetts has two boats entered in the Varsity 8+, with the teams forced to row through white caps and heavy winds throughout the day. With a 15-20 mile per hour tailwind, the first UMass boat crossed the finish with a time of 5:07 with the second Minutewomen boat trailing right behind at 5:08. The Colgate Varsity Eight, which caught a boat stopping crab just 600 meters into the race, finished third at 5:18.

• The UMass Varsity Four continued its success from its Yankee Cup victory, finishing first with a time of 5:40 while Massachusetts' secondary Four boat was just three seconds behind at 5:43. The Raiders concluded its race at 5:49. The novices capped off the day for the Minutewomen with a win in a tight race with Colgate with a time of 5:16.50.

Up Next:
• The Minutewomen will be able to test the waters on the Cooper River this weekend before traveling back to Camden, N.J. for the Atlantic 10 Championships next Saturday, also on the Cooper River. UMass has won 13 Atlantic 10 Championships all-time, and finished in second place behind Rhode Island last season.

UMass In The National Polls:
• In the most recent USRowing Collegiate Poll, the Lightweight 8+ is ranked ninth nationally, the lone Atlantic 10 team included in the poll. The boat was seeded eighth in the first poll earlier this season, and was also included in the poll throughout last season.

The 2011 UMass Minutewomen:
• This season's roster sports 20 upperclassmen, including 11 seniors and two graduate students, who hope to use past experiences to lead their younger teammates to consistent success. Seniors Liz Euiler and Samantha Schnoerr will serve as co-captains for the 2011 season. Schnoerr, a coxswain, and Euiler are two of the seven returning members from last season's Varsity Eight boat.

• The UMass Second Varsity Eight also returns several key members from last season's lineup, including seniors Carly Payne (coxswain) and Kelsey Schachter. Joining them is junior Emily Boucher, who raced at the 2010 Under 23 World Championships in the Lightweight Single Sculls over the summer, and Megan Donovan, a 2010 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team member.

• Joining the veterans are 20 freshman rowers, who will compete in various novice boats throughout the season.

The Spring Schedule:
• UMass will begin the 2011 spring season with a scrimmage against the Coast Guard Academy on March 19 at the Connecticut River. From there, the Minutewomen will head to Kingston, R.I. for the Yankee Cup, a regatta that the team finished second at last season. A new addition to the season slate, Colgate, will travel to Amherst for an April 2 date with the Minutewomen at 8 AM, again on the Connecticut River.

• Massachusetts will then begin a string of three straight races in Camden, N.J., beginning with the two-day Knecht Cup, where junior Emily Boucher won the singles event last season. UMass will remain in New Jersey for the 16th Annual Atlantic 10 Championships on April 16 on the Cooper River. The 2011 conference championships will be the second season that only the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four boat finishes will count towards the final team standings.

• After competing with Holy Cross in Worcester on April 23, the Massachusetts Lightweight Eight will look to defend their 2010 first place finishes at the Dad Vail Regatta (May 13-14) and USRowing Collegiate Championships (May 23-24).

UMass Represented At C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints:
• Eight members of the UMass women's rowing team competed in the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints on Sunday at Agganis Arena in Boston. Five Minutewomen were entered in the Women's Openweight at the World Indoor Rowing Championships while three Massachusetts rowers, each of whom raced as part of the Lightweight 8+ that took home the gold at last season's Dad Vail Regatta, competed in the Women's Lightweight Open. Megan Donovan led all UMass rowers with a ninth place finish in lightweight competition, while Adrienne Breef-Pilz placed 31st amongst Women's Open competitors.

• To read the full release and view results from UMass' performance at the C.R.A.S.H.-B's, click here.

UMass Rowing Holds Boat Dedication:
• During halftime of the men's basketball game against Maine on December 8, the UMass Rowing team held a boat dedication ceremony at half-court, honoring former student-athletes Michelle Whitcomb-Borkhuis and Wendy Wilbur. During their time at UMass, both women were instrumental in providing the building blocks for what makes the Massachusetts Rowing team successful today. The Minutewomen also dedicated a boat to current UMass Hall of Famer Sarah Jones earlier this year.

• Michelle Whitcomb was a seven-time member of United States Women's National Rowing Team from 1997 to 2003. She was a ten-time U.S. National Champion and won the Canadian Henley in 1996 as well as the prestigious Head of the Charles in 1997. Michelle demonstrated excellent versatility, competing at National levels as both an openweight, a lightweight, a sweep rower and a sculler.

• Wendy Wilbur was a part of the UMass 1997 Women's Eight that placed a historic second at the Inaugural NCAA Women's Rowing Championship. That year she was also named a USRowing Academic All American.

• To read the full release on the UMass Rowing Boat Dedication, click here.

Sarah Jones Inducted Into UMass Hall Of Fame:
• The first-ever UMass Hall of Famer from the rowing program, Sarah Jones has had a decorated career in college and with the United States National Team and Olympic Team. With the Minutewomen, she was an NCAA Silver Medalist in 1997 in the Varsity 8+. She was a two-time Atlantic 10 Champion in both 1996 and 1997. Jones was a member of the first collegiate team to win the women's 8+ at the Head of the Schuylkill in 1996 and helped UMass to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta Silver Medal in 1996 with the Varsity 8+.

• Jones was a member of United States National Team from 1997-2003. She competed for Team USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, helping the stars and stripes to a sixth-place finish. She medaled six times in the World Championships. Jones was a two-time World Championship gold medalist in both 1999 and 2000. She was also a silver medalist at the Head of the Charles in 1998 and 1999 and took bronze in 1997.

Boucher Goes Global:
• Emily Boucher (Lee, N.H.) represented the United States at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus. Boucher raced in the Lightweight Single Sculls event, where she earned a spot after capturing gold by nearly seven seconds in the same event at the U23 Trials in late June.

• Boucher got off to a tough start on the first day of competition, finishing fifth in her preliminary heat with a time of 8:08.51. She put up a fight through the first half of the course before falling back to eventual top-finisher from Belarus.

• The UMass junior was then forced to race in the repechage where she placed third, shaving off three seconds from her previous time with a 8:05.67 to earn a spot in the semifinals.

• Boucher stayed consistent during the semifinals with a finish time of 8:05.05, but boats from Belarus and Austria set the pace in their one-two finish, pushing Boucher down to fifth place. Competition didn't get any easier in the Final B, however, as Kazakhstan and Switzerland made it a two-boat race with Boucher clocking in with a time of 9:02.90, a sixth place finish.

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