April 13, 2006 Issue                                               

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Eights wins for Mount in fourth Flick
by Tom Utescher

As the fourth Manny Flick race unfolded on the Schuylkill last Sunday, it appeared that the Mount St. Joseph Academy crew might have to worry more about a sense of complacency than the threat posed by rival teams.

All six of the Magic’s eight-oared entries won their respective races, and in categories where there were several sections (or heats), the MSJ boats each posted the best overall time. But although many Mounties have experienced nothing but success so far this spring, the team coaches and their more experienced rowers know that the big races in May will include strong out-of-state crews yet unseen, so the Magic will be concentrating on honing technique and fine-tuning line-ups during the Easter break, April 12 through 24.

The depth of the Mount program is reflected by crews such as the JV eight - Devon Stewart (cox), Gina DiDomenico (stroke), Amanda Chain, Lawren Kiefer, Mer Weber, Megan Schluckebier, Colleen Beichert, Lizzy Kiernan and Gabi Jordan - which churned out a 14-second victory over runner-up Archbishop Prendergast last weekend. Its time of 5:16.58 was also seven seconds better than the winning time in the other heat.

Before the lightweight eights had reached the halfway point of their race, the Magic team of Alicia Elliott (cox), Jenn Young (stroke), Liz Stanowski, Marykate Kelly, Mollie Flynn, Kelly O’Neill, Jenna O’Neill, Liz Keenan and Meg Farris had already put some open water between itself and the field. Clocking in at 5:03.55, the Magic achieved a split of 11.58 over second-place Camden Catholic.

Mount St. Joe’s second eight featured one of Chestnut Hill’s own McDonald twins at each end of the boat. That outfit, consisting of Kaitlin McDonald (cox), Christine Quinn (stroke), Becky Lederer, Erin McGann, Kate Klein, Kerry Roman, Denny Belcher, Athena Diaconis and Liz McDonald, won in 4:59.15, repulsing a challenge from runner-up Holy Spirit (5:03.33). This was easily the faster of the two sections in the class; the other race was won in 5:19.27.

Spirit also pushed the Mount in the varsity eight race, where the locals won in 4:53.28 and the girls from the Jersey shore crossed the wire second in 4:57.58. The line-up here (Jane Mieczkowski, cox; Megan McCusker, stroke; Steph Farris; Francesca Crozier-Fitzgerald; Meredith Walsh; Mary Grace Maggiano; Meg Kehan; Emily Walker, and Hilary O’Shea) seems to be pretty much set for this spring, but there are several other rowers on the team capable of taking a seat in this shell if any of the current occupants loses focus.

The Mount’s less-experienced oarswomen also made a good showing on Sunday, with the novice eight turning in the best time in all three sections of its event, at 5:27.99. Within their grouping, the Magic crew of Claire Geruson (cox), Kaitlin Scher (stroke), Blaire Kelly, Maeve Flynn, Megan Welsh, Emma Brown, Ali Pugh, Betsy Thompson and Sofia Quinodoz topped second-place Oakcrest by five-and-a-half seconds.

In a day of head-to-head team races against Holy Spirit several Saturdays ago, the MSJ freshmen (Nicole Weinrich, cox; Rachel Weller, stroke); Meaghan Scher; Johanna Duff; Molly Southwell; Liz Kelly; Mary Maginnis; Erika McCormick, and Caroline Ayes beat the Spirit ninth graders by about two seconds. It looked as though Spirit’s youngsters would avenge this loss last Sunday, but at the very end of the race the Jersey girls caught a crab and the Magic slipped by and won, 5:03.59 to 5:04.43. Although luck certainly played a role in the MSJ victory, it was nice to know that this was the fastest of the three frosh races that came down the river.

In other contests last weekend, two MSJ fours finished second in their events. In the lone novice four outing, the Magic’s Kelly Stefanowicz (cox), Kelly O’Neill (stroke), Nicole Rossetti, Chrisen Kouch, and Faith Zaki made the trip in 7:19.15 to finish behind Germantown Academy [Linsey Cherry (cox), Ally Rutkosky (stroke), Sarah Soulen, Britney Wolf, Anna Washburn], which won in 6:14.40.

A JV four from the Mount [Meg Cardell (cox), Rose Mazurek (stroke), Liz Limberakis, Grace O’Shea, Meghan Held] was runner-up in its heat to a fast Agnes Irwin boat (5:46.66 to 6:00.90). Irwin recorded the best time overall, while the Magic ranked fourth among 11 entries.