Only one team will be in action on the Cayuga Inlet this weekend as Sprints comes closer. In the final home race and last competition before EAWRC Sprints, the women host Ivy rival Dartmouth tomorrow.
National Standing
The Red is ahead of the Green in the national polls in every catagory, but Dartmouth does not lag far behind.
“The [first varsity boat] is picking up a lot of speed,” head coach Melanie Onufrieff said.
The reason for the substantial improvement is because the long Ithaca winters kept the team from practicing on the Inlet until its first regata on March 31.
Scheduling Problems
Dartmouth faces that same problem. Onufrieff attributes the heated rivary to between the two schools to the similarities in schedule.
[Dartmouth and Cornell] are schools that get off kind of late [due to the cold weather],” Onufrieff said.
The Red’s first boat currently rests in the 10th place in the EAWRC polls. Dartmouth is 13th.
“We have a lineup that works pretty well,” Onufrieff boasted.
Although there have been minor changes during the campaign, Onufrieff is using the same roster she had in last weekend’s race against Brown and Columbia. Trisha DiGiore will be the cox for the varsity boat along with rowers Alex Bisset, Ashley Morse, Allison Horne, Fran O’Rourke, Ann Holmes Lauren Gentile Crystal Cline Melissa Kalvestrand
The novice races promise to be the most exciting of the day, though. The undefeated first novice boat is ranked No. 1 in the country, whereas Dartmouth is third.
“I think [the novices] are ready. They’ve rowed phenomenally well,” Onufrieff said.
Building Blocks
The Red hopes to build upon last weekend’s performance, which saw them competitve with the reigning national champions from the last two years Bears, and upset the Lions.
“Last weekend we were the best we’ve been all year,” Onufrieff commented.
Archived article by Amanda Angel