Results

The UMass Lowell novice and second varsity four teams each came away with victories Sunday in a collegiate women's rowing meet on the Quinsigamond River.

UMass Lowell's novices, unbeaten in four of five meets this spring, emerged first in the five-team field with a 2,000 meter time of 8 minutes, 17.1 seconds, handily defeating Amherst College, which took second in 8:36.1 and Clark University (9:02.1).

Wentworth Institute of Technology placed fourth (10:05.2) and Brandeis fifth (10:18.8).

UMass Lowell's novices included freshmen coxswain Rachel Paquette (Dracut, Mass.) along with freshmen Jenna Bueno (Methuen, Mass.), Erinn McLaughlin (Lowell, Mass.), Katie Judd (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Meredith Swan (Gloucester, Mass.).

In the second varsity four race, UMass Lowell gained an early lead and never looked back, posting a time of 8:07.4 to defeat Clark University, which finished in 8:26.5. The second varsity included senior coxswain Irene Cassidy (Methuen, Mass.) along with junior Kim Haskins (Taunton, Mass.), sophomores Bridget Mahoney (Dracut, Mass.) and Megan McLaughlin (Haverhill, Mass.) and freshman Rachael Piela (Amherst, Mass.).

“Our novices started with a spectacular fashion with long powerful strokes and tremendous composure,” said head coach Veronika Platzer. “The second varsity four followed suit 10 minutes later and raced to the front early and forced the field to chase after them.”

In the women's varsity four, UMass Lowell placed third in 7:55.1, behind only winner Amherst College (7:43.5) and Clark (7:50.0). Brandeis (8:18.3) took fourth and was followed by Wentworth Institute of Technology (8:38.2) and Mass Maritime (8:40.1).

UMass Lowell jumped out to an early lead, but lost steam, enabling Amherst and Clark to prevail. “I was really pleased that they finally took command of a race with an early lead,” Platzer noted. “Unfortunately as the field chased them down, they became unnerved and lost the lead.

“We are gutted and disappointed with the outcome,” she added. “There is a difference between losing and not winning and today they lost. It's a tough lesson to learn but these are some of the most resilient members of the squad and they will rebound with more resolve.”

The varsity fours were made up of Cassidy, Bueno, junior Melinda Neale (Plaistow, N.H.) and seniors Amanda Murray (West Newbury, Mass.) and Kerry Siebert (Byfield, Mass.).

UMass Lowell gears for the New England Championship May 5 on the Quinsigamond River in Worcester.