April 26, 2010

There is no better way heading toward a championship weekend than to go in undefeated.

And that is exactly what the UMass Lowell women's varsity four is after beating Amherst College on the Merrimack River Saturday morning in the final of a series of home races hosted by the River Hawks Rowing team.

Erin Dubinski (Westford, MA), Amanda Murray (West Newbury, MA), Katrina Walther (Barre, MA), Ianna Hondros-McCarthy (Lowell, MA), and coxswain Kate Dufault (Worchester, MA), led the 2000 meter race from the first stroke, edging away in the opening 500 and then continuing to increase the lead down the course until there was open water between the boats.

UMass Lowell finished the race in a time of 7:23, followed by Amherst at 7:45.8.

"While I'm happy for this squad to maintain their undefeated record, I am even more pleased with their maturity to address weaknesses and convert them to even more hull speed," said Head Coach Veronika Platzer. "This characteristic is central to any successful crew and these women have it in spades!"

It was a great day of racing from the UMass Lowell Bellegarde Boathouse under blue skies and with calm winds. The River Hawk racers faired well against crews from Franklin Pierce University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the University of Vermont, winning the women's pair, the novice women's eight and placing second in the women's novice four.

The team will spend the next nine practices preparing for the championship regatta in Philadelphia. They will be taking four boats to the Dad Vail Regatta, the largest college spring regatta for small NCAA and club programs.

It is a huge step in the developing program, which is scheduled to join the ranks of NCAA DII rowing this coming fall. Last year the River Hawks had only one boat in Philadelphia, the men's pair.

"We have certainly come a long way from just last year and I couldn't be more pleased to take a full squad to Dad Vails," Platzer said.