Sunday, the rowers gauged their progress.
And the assessment is?
They've made great strides this fall.
While the Irish have only practiced for about two weeks, they managed to finish the Scathach boat fourth out of 11 crews in one race at the weekend regatta.
They raced three boats in three different races. Eastern Michigan, Michigan and Michigan State each had boats participate. Stroke limits were 25 per minute, while each race lasted 3,000 meters.
Usually Notre Dame takes its top rowers and puts them in the A boat. The rest of the crew is separated by ability and cooperation. But this weekend, coach Martin Stone chose the boats and the rowers randomly. The three boats were the Joyce, the Hesburgh and the Scathach.
The Scathach finished in 10:01. In that piece, the crew included Shannan Lettieri, Melissa Felker, Alyssa Close, Lindsay McQuaid, Betsy Madison, Laura Pearson, Andrea Doud, Erica Castro-Larson and Shannon Cassell. The Joyce crew finished eighth in 10:08, while the Hesburgh crew came in 10th in 10:11.
In the second piece, the Scathach remained consistent. It finished fifth in 9:42 with Eileen Froehlke, Felker, Close, McQuaid, Madison, Pearson, Doud, Erica Castro-Larson and Kate Sylvia aboard. The Joyce took seventh, and the Hesburgh finished eighth.
Though the rowers were pleased with their start to the day, they finished even stronger.
The Scathach stormed in at third in 10:03. The Joyce also finished third in its piece, and the Hesburgh fell to ninth.
For the first regatta, the Irish rowed well. They now know what they must do this fall to condition themselves for an NCAA run in the spring.
"I was very pleased with how we rowed today," Stone said. "We've only been practicing for two weeks and we used this competition to see where we are at this early in the season.
"Today showed us what we need to do to get better."
