PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – For the first time in the program’s history, the University of Dayton’s Varsity 8 boat won the Grand Final at the Atlantic 10 Women’s Rowing Championship.
Dayton set an Atlantic 10 Championship record winning the event by 12.25 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 12.0 seconds. The Flyers finished with a time of 7:52.20.
Members of the Flyers’ Varsity 8 team included coxswain Kristin Dormish, Sadie Wonders, Katherine Bruening, Michele Baeder, Grace Doepker, Martha Sitkiewicz, Kerri Kramer, Molly Chipman and Erin Quinn.
“This is a big deal for us,” said Dayton head coach
Michael Wenker on the Flyers winning the Varsity 8 race. “We had a bad race in the morning but came back out in the finals and showed everyone what we had. I was very pleased; we had a lot of good practices this week in a lot of wind so we were pretty prepared for the conditions that were present today.”
Wenker was honored as the A-10 Coach of the Year in his first season as UD’s head coach. Wonders was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, while Bruening and Dormish were named Second Team All-Atlantic 10.
Overall, Dayton finished in fourth with 41 team points.
Saint Joseph’s claimed its first Atlantic 10 Rowing Championship Saturday morning at the Cooper River posting top three finishes in the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 to finish the regatta with 45 points.
Three schools finished in a three-way tie for first place as Massachusetts and Rhode Island joined Saint Joseph’s with 45 points. The Hawks owned the tiebreaker between the tied teams which reverted back to the overall finish in the Varsity 8 competition.
Massachusetts was awarded second place for the overall championship, while Rhode Island finished third. Rounding out the year’s field was Dayton in fourth (41 points), Fordham in fifth (27), George Washington in sixth (24), Temple in seventh (23), Duquesne in eighth (14) and La Salle in ninth (4). Only Dayton and La Salle’s rowing teams are non-scholarship in the A-10.
Prior to 2011, Dayton’s best finish in the Varsity 8 was placing in second at the 2002 A-10 Championships. The Atlantic 10 has sponsored women’s rowing since 1996.
UD advanced to the Varsity 8 Grand Final after a third place finish in their qualifying heat. The Flyers qualified with a time of 8:35.92.
In other races, Dayton’s Varsity 4 finished the Grand Final in fourth with a time of 10:26.53. Stroked by Lauren Jabir, the Flyers advanced to the final by placing in second in the qualifying heat.
Also placing in fourth was UD’s Novice 8. Stroked by Shae Brennan, Dayton finished the Novice 8 Grand Final with a time of 9:38.27.
In the Second Varsity 8 Grand Final, UD placed in sixth with a time of 9:29.32.
Due to unsafe water conditions, conference officials canceled the Novice 4 Final, Lightweight 4 Final and Quad Final.
Dayton’s next event will take place on Saturday, April 23 as the Flyers will compete against Ohio State and Michigan State club teams in Columbus, Ohio.
Atlantic 10 Conference Rowing All-Championship Teams
First Team
Danielle Brady, Saint Joseph’s
Brianne Kammerman, Saint Joseph’s
Colleen Smith, Saint Joseph’s
Elizabeth Euiler, Massachusetts
Samantha Schnoerr, Massachusetts
Jenessa Redfern, Rhode Island
Megan O’Brien, Rhode Island
Sadie Wonders, Dayton
Kayla Gaskey, Fordham
Anna Kaminski, George Washington
Brynn Moore, Temple
Second Team
Clare Burns, Saint Joseph’s
Carly Payne, Massachusetts
Alexandra DiMatteo, Massachusetts
Haley Fiske, Rhode Island
Katherine Bruening, Dayton
Kristin Dormish, Dayton
Alyssa Sunofsky, Fordham
Taylor Shannon, Duquesne
Kellie Karver, La Salle
Michael Wenker (Dayton), A-10 Coach of the Year
