EMU Earns Inaugural CAA Boat of the Week
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (April 12, 2017) – The Eastern Michigan First Varsity Eight took home the inaugural Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Rowing Boat of the Week after picking up three victories at the Lubbers Cup last weekend.
The Eagles’ 1V8+ boat had a huge weekend at the Lubbers Cup, April 8-9, in Spring Lake, Mich. The team took part in three races, and claimed victory in all three. They began the weekend by clocking a time a 6:41.0. In the second race on Saturday, EMU won with a 6:42.1 time, defeating boats from Marquette and host Grand Valley State. In a blustery Sunday, high winds canceled all but two races, but the 1V8+ was able to hit the water for a shortened race. In that race, they defeated Drake and Marquette with a time of 3:42.6.
For their efforts, the boat consisting of coxswain Savannah Theisen, Addison Oblanas, Samantha Allen, Stephanie Parker, Rebekah Wheeler, Jamie Rittenhouse, Baylee Kinkade, Sarah Anderson, and Caitlyn Maguire, took home the Nancy Lubbers Cup as the top Varsity 8+ on the weekend.
This is the first season in which the CAA Boat of the Week award has been presented. The CAA Boat of the Week will be announced every Wednesday throughout the season.
Around the CAA
With Haley Doucette as the coxswain and Madison Mailey in the stroke seat for the First Varsity Eight, the Huskies flew down the 2000-meter course on the Charles River to finish with a time of 6:50.1, six seconds ahead of Columbia at 6:56.7, to win the Woodbury Cup for the third straight year.
Victories by the Varsity Eight (coxswain Nupur Parikh, Kendall Wenzke, Paige Propp, Natalie Alleva, Erin Archibald, Catherine Haas, Meghan Knecht, Kylie Magee and Amanda Reale) and Second Varsity Eight (coxswain Abigail Colasacco, Stephanie Horn, Mackenzie Dorsett, Marina Forster, Margarita Amihava, Fiona Mauer, Lauren Sand, Kayley Slicer, Julianna Hunt) highlighted Drexel’s day at the George Washington Invitational as the Dragons took home the points title on the Potomac River.
Buffalo, Delaware, and Villanova battled through rough conditions at the Knecht Cup on Mercer Lake. Delaware had several crews advance to the Petite Finals of their respective races, including the Second Varsity Eight which finished fifth in the race and 11th overall (7:09.57). Villanova’s Second Varsity Eight (coxswain Ellen Cayer, Valerie Burke, Caroline Murphy, Eryn McCassey, Haley Gagnon, Jackie Denning, Katie Bitler, Katie Donahue, Julia Taladay) finished 13th overall after capturing the Third Final (7:05.53), for their best showing of the season. The Wildcats finished just ahead of Buffalo’s crew (Caeleigh Heavey, Maddie Sheffield, Ankita Kelkar, Elizabeth Shilling, Jillian Michael, Natalie Howk, Isabella Goldberg, Hayley Nieves and Rylee James), which had a time of 7:10.13.