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Date: May 18, 2006
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Colby crew members Curtis, Friedman earn All-America honors

WATERVILLE, Maine --- Colby College women's crew members Katie Curtis (Hebron Academy/Hebron, Maine) and Valerie Friedman (Hun School/Pennington, N.J.) were each named to the Division III Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-America First Team on Thursday.

The two are key performers in Colby's varsity eight boat that will compete at the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships next weekend in New Jersey.

Curtis, who sits in the fifth seat in the boat, has rowed with the varsity 8 the past two seasons. She was in the second varsity eight boat as a sophomore and was in the novice boat as a first-year rower.

"When you sit in the number five seat, your job is to pull hard," Colby head coach Stew Stokes said. "She is the strongest and biggest woman we've had in the program since I've been here."

Curtis raced with the varsity eight last year when the Mules finished sixth at the national meet. The senior was invited to attend a U.S. Rowing Development Camp at Gonzaga University this summer.

Carolyn Curtis, Katie's younger sister, sits in the third seat on Colby's varsity eight boat.

Friedman, a junior, is the coxswain of Colby's varsity eight boat. She was with the second varsity boat at last year's national meet.

"She has good coxswain skills," Stokes said. "But she's also the motivational force behind the crew. She's unflaggingly optimistic and brings a lot of personality to it."

An awards committee from the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association selected two nine-member All-America teams. Strength of schedule, regular season record, late season regatta results, nomination rank, coaches comments and 2,000-meter erg score are all part of the selection criteria.