After a long day of competition on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., the Massachusetts women’s rowing team had come away with a number of accolades, including a silver medal in the Novice Four and a bronze in the Second Varsity Eight.
However, there was still the crowing achievement to shoot for. In the very last race of the weekend, the Varsity Four sped past the competition to finish first and earn a gold medal.
“There was some pretty great racing going on,” said UMass coach Jim Dietz. “Overall, I think it was a good regatta.”
However, the positive results didn’t mean that the competition wasn’t grueling for the UMass squad. “Usually, we beat the team up at the Knecht Cup,” said Dietz. “The average person there raced 2,000 meters, or a mile-and-a-quarter, six times. And that’s a lot.”
On their way to the gold medal, the Varsity Four finished second in its initial heat, first in the semifinal and then the aforementioned first-place finish to pull off the victory. In the final race, junior coxswain Em Chiu, senior Teresa O’Brien, sophomore Meredith Kearney, senior Rachel Spielberg and sophomore Adrienne Breef-Pilz crossed the finish line in a time of 7:46.20, just over three seconds ahead of second-place Buffalo.
Duke, the third-place finisher, clocked in more than seven seconds after the Minutewomen.
The Varsity Four’s time in the last race shattered its previous best at the 2011 Knecht Cup, as it was over 23 seconds faster than its 8:09.31 mark in the semifinals.
“Some 30, 35 different colleges were entered [in the Varsity Four],” said Dietz. “So to win is pretty huge.”
The closest race of the day was the Second Varsity Eight final, as boats from UMass, Wisconsin and Delaware all finished within two-tenths of a second of one another. Wisconsin just snuck across first to earn the gold, finishing in 6:57.58.
The silver and bronze winners, Delaware and UMass, came in just one-tenth and two-tenths of a second later, respectively.
“The Second Varsity Eight rowed tremendously,” said Dietz. “I think that’s pretty exciting racing.”
The Minutewomen also earned a victory in the Double and a fourth-place finish in the Varsity Eight.
Now, the sights of the team turn to the Atlantic 10 Championships, which takes place on April 16 in Pennsauken, N.J. where UMass will be in pursuit of its 14th conference championship. While the stakes are high, Dietz doesn’t seem worried. In fact, he’s counting on the lesser physical stress and the team’s natural enthusiasm to carry the day.
“Unlike this week’s racing, the kids’ know they’ll only be going down to the course twice. Once in a pretty easy heat, the next in a barnburner final,” said Dietz. “It’ll be interesting to see what goes on. Our kids really get up for that regatta.”
Ben Lambert can be reached at [email protected].
