Women's Crew Disappoints In Council Cup Regatta
April 24, 2004 | Women's Rowing
The Terrier women's crew, hoping to move up from its 15th-place national ranking, had a disappointing performance in losing to 17th-ranked Notre Dame in the Women's Council Cup race on the Charles River on Saturday, April 24.
In the three-crew regatta that also featured Northeastern, the Terriers covered the 2,000-meter course in 6:57.3, while Notre Dame was clocked in 6:55.5. Rowing against a wind that blew from the Boston side to the Cambridge side of the Charles, Northeastern was a distant third in 7:11.3.
In the real bright spot of the day for the Terriers, the second varsity put on a gutsy performance en route to a 1.6-second win over Note Dame, 7:21.0 to 7:22.6. Again, Northeastern was third in 7:51.6.
"The second varsity was awesome," said varsity head coach Holly Hatton. "Jess (assistant coach Jessica Lizzi) has done a great job. That boat is coming along, and they are keeping the (NCAA team bid) dream alive."
Hatton was not as pleased with the performance of her heavyweight boat. On the contrary, she was very "disappointed."
"The race was ours to win," said the coach. "We didn't respond to Notre Dame effectively. We had a race plan, and when it was evident that the plan was not going to work, we weren't able to change it during the race.
"We did make some moves, but they weren't significant enough, and we just didn't get the boost we needed," said Hatton. "I know that we have more speed than we showed today."
On Thursday, two days before race day, Hatton made some lineup changes in the boat. The women practiced with that lineup but it was in a different boat than they one they raced in on Saturday. Could those two factors have made a difference on race day?
"It may have," answered the coach. "We just weren't able to find our groove. I will see how the lineup looks on Monday and Tuesday. And, if it doesn't work, then I might go back to how it was.
"I do know that, as a result of today, we could slip down to number 18, and the NCAA takes just the top 16," the coach pointed out. "We have Radcliffe next Saturday and then the Sprints, and, how we row in those two races could help. Right now, the pressure is on us."
In the first novice race, the Terriers finished first in 7:15.5, while Northeastern was second in 7:18.3, and Notre Dame was third in 7:26.8.
