An End to Spring Training Marks The Beginning Of Spring Racing

April 2, 2006

LAKE PICKET, Fla. - MIT's lightweight women's team capped off its spring training trip yesterday with races against the University of Central Florida and the Florida Institute of Technology.

Comfortable weather in Cocoa Beach throughout the week allowed the team to take full advantage of two daily practices. The mood was cheerful, as everyone enjoyed the sunshine and frequent sightings of dolphins and manatees. Despite fatigue from heavy training, both the varsity and novice squads were eager for the first regatta of the season.

The morning began with calm water, with the temperature rising and a cross-wind developing as the boats launched.  In the varsity eight race, the Engineers had a novice substitute for an ill varsity rower, and the FIT boat contained some openweight rowers. The crew from MIT stuck to their early season plan and raced a controlled cadence, giving them hope for future gains in speed. In a close sprint, FIT emerged on top with a time of 7:25.2, followed by UCF in 7:35.8, and MIT with 7:58.0.

After the varsity eights came the novice fours, with one entry from MIT and two from UCF.  Rowing very aggressively, the MIT four kept contact with the second UCF boat from start to finish.  UCF "A" won the race in 8:55.5, UCF "B" placed second in 9:07.6, and MIT was third in 9:12.8.

The third race was the varsity four, with an entry from each school.  The MIT crew went out to improve upon their result in the eight, and managed to cross the line second.  The winner, with a time of 8:05.4, was UCF, and MIT and FIT followed with 8:25.6 and 8:32.8, respectively.

The final event was the novice eight race, with a boat from MIT, one from UCF, and a third with six UCF rowers along with MIT rowers Loretta Treviño and Tiffany Iaconis.  The FIT varsity open/light boat also raced for a second time, as exhibition.  This was perhaps the most exciting race of the day, as positions changed a few times over the length of the course.  The FIT boat got an early lead and kept it all the way to the finish, leaving the novice boats behind.  Meanwhile, the UCF crew jumped up about a length on MIT in the first 500 meters, but MIT proceeded to walk through them in the middle of the race and cross the 1500-meter mark with a length lead.  The novice Engineers were slowed briefly by two crabs, and were edged out by UCF just before the finish line.  The final times were: 7:23.6 for FIT, 7:56.0 for UCF, 7:58.9 for MIT, and 8:34.3 for the UCF/MIT combination crew.

Having returned to Cambridge, the team now sets it sights on the Knecht Cup next weekend in New Jersey, an event that always features good lightweight competition.

Varsity Eight

C- Kat Hung

8- Erqi Liu

7- Kelly Chang

6- Kate Madden

5- Jessica Lynch

4- Loretta Treviño

3- Kathryn Schumacher

2- Kat Yeh

1- Cathy Yao

Novice Four

C- Seema Kacker

4- Diana Ye

3- Christine Shaver

2- Kate Hoff

1- Tiffany Iaconis

Varsity Four

C- Kat Hung

4- Erqi Liu

3- Kelly Chang

2- Kat Yeh

1- Jessica Lynch

Novice Eight

C- Seema Kacker

8- Jackie Douglass

7- Christine Shaver

6- Kate Hoff

5- Kathryn Schumacher

4- Amanda Berry

3- Jenn Resvick

2- Cong Luo

1- Zuzana Trnovcova