April 1, 2006
Washington Wins Caspersen Cup
Shorewomen Take Three Races

BALTIMORE, MD -- The 13th-ranked Washington College women's rowing team won three races as the Shorewomen combined with the men's rowing team to take first place at the 13th Annual Caspersen Cup held this morning in Baltimore, MD. Washington finished the regatta with 53 total points, while Johns Hopkins was second with 50 and St. John's (MD) was third with 22.

The Shorewomen's varsity eight won its race in 6:22.29, finished 20 seconds ahead of first-place Johns Hopkins. Senior Katie Cooper (Annapolis, MD/Archbishop Spalding) served as the coxswain of the Shorewomen's varsity eight. Senior Leslie Meredith (Fort Bragg, NC/Lake Braddock, VA) sat stroke, senior Katherine Wilson (Devon, PA/Conestoga) was in the seven seat, junior Erin Jones (Crofton, MD/Arundel) sat in the six seat, junior Jeanne Clark (Pound Ridge, NY/Fox Lane) was in the five seat, junior Amy Uebel (Martinsville, IN/Martinsville) was in the four seat, sophomore Hayley Taylor (Tyaskin, MD/Geneva Academy) was in the three seat, sophomore Kelly Spicer (Towson, MD/Loch Raven) sat in the two seat, and junior Megan Walburn (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park) was the bow.

Washington won the women's novice eight by nearly 26 seconds over second-place Johns Hopkins as the Shorewomen finished first in 6:46.85. Freshman Danielle Holthaus (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) served as coxswain of the Shorewomen's novice eight. Freshman Jenna Lapointe (Newark, DE/Newark) sat stroke, freshman Kali Beth Erstein (Spring Lake, NJ/Manasquan) was in the seven seat, freshman Jamie Beaber (Littleton, CO/Littleton) was in the six seat, freshman Carol Funck (Etters, PA/Red Land) sat in the five seat, freshman Megan Jasion (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) was in the four seat, freshman Emily Bands (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) sat in the three seat, freshman Allie LaVigne (West Boylston, MA/West Boylston) was in two seat, and freshman Abby Withers (Wallingford, PA/Strath Haven) was the bow.

The Shorewomen's novice rowers also pulled out a victory in the novice four, finishing in 7:25.14 to Johns Hopkins second-place time of 7:29.88. Holthaus was the coxswain of the Shorewomen's novice four. Jasion sat stroke, Lapointe was in the three seat, Beaber sat in the two seat, and Erstein was the bow.

Washington's women's varsity four was second in 7:25.49. Johns Hopkins won the women's varsity four. Junior Erin Koster (Tranquility, NJ/Newton) was the coxswain of the Shorewomen's varsity four. Junior Blair Haring (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) sat stroke, sophomore Laura Ratz (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) was in the three seat, senior Betsy Davis (Pitman, NJ/Pitman) was in the two seat, and sophomore Courtney Jensen (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) was the bow.

Washington head rowing coach Mike Davenport was pleased with today's races. Davenport was especially impressed by the novice rowers, noting, "Both the men's and women's novice eights did fantastic jobs - the best I've seen by our novices in 15 years. The women's varsity eight also did an excellent job."

"There were a lot of uncertainties going into today's race, but the kids did really well and it looks good for the future."

The Shorewomen return to competition next Saturday and Sunday at the Knecht Cup in Camden, NJ.