The Massachusetts rowing team closed the door on a sensational fall season, capping off its schedule with the Green Monster Invitational in Hanover, New Hampshire on Saturday.
The Minutewomen secured two top eight finishes in the meet while sending only two boats.
The Green Monster Invitational is regarded as a novice tournament that begins at the head of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire. In the race, UMass’ “A” team took sixth place with a time of 17:51.9 while the “B” team finished in eighth place with a time of 18:10.7.
The initial intention was to race again on Sunday but with severe weather conditions closing in, the Collegiate Small Boat Challenge was cancelled in order to prevent any accidents.
The Minutewomen’s performance on Saturday came one week after an astounding finish at the Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, New York. UMass earned nine first place finishes and finished the race with a commanding 13 total medals.
“Last week, when we competed at the Head of the Fish, (it) was definitely the defining moment of our season,” Minutewomen coach Jim Dietz said. “We went up there last year and ended up with similar results, but this year we won in a more dominating fashion which is proving to me that the squad is deeper than years’ past and continuing to gain experience.”
UMass received strong performances in the Women’s Collegiate 2x, where the duo of Krysten Menks and Emily Mann grabbed a first place finish with a time of 13:07.56, easily coasting ahead of their second place companions by three seconds.
Carly Zanatta, Rachel Boudreau and Lauren Azuela finished third, fourth and sixth respectively in the Women’s Collegiate 1x.
As the fall season ends, the Minutewomen look to carry their momentum into the spring, where they will compete again in March, starting with a matchup against Coast Guard in Hadley.
A season ago, UMass raced its way into the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen plan to spend winter break gaining traction as they look to make a return.
Christopher Martinez can be reached at [email protected].
