Rowing Head Coach Laura Slice Adds Nine to 2011 Recruiting Class
June 30, 2011
NEWARK, Del. -- Coming off a successful season in which the University of Delaware rowing team saw its Novice Eights boat win the Eastern College Athletic Conference Regional Championship on the way to a second place team finish, head coach Laura Slice has announced the addition of nine student-athletes to the 2011 recruiting class.
Denise Cirelli, Calla Cissel, Hayley Diverio, Emma Dolson, Kate Flood, Emma Kulek, Jennifer Majcher, Catherine Manner, and Jamie Noce will join the Blue Hens this fall and begin their quest for a Colonial Athletic Association championship in the spring of 2012.
The nine standout recruits come from six different states along the East Coast and are joined by Yardley Markee, who signed with Delaware last November.
“I could not be more excited to have these women join us in the fall,” said Slice, who will begin her ninth season at the helm of the Blue Hens in 2011-12. “This group possesses a high level of talent that I know will continue to help build the strength and speed of Delaware’s program in the years to come.”
Cirelli, a 5-5 lightweight rower from Wayne, Pa., was a two-year rower at the Baldwin School.
This spring, Cirelli rowed in the Lightweight Four event where her crew placed sixth at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, fourth in the semifinals at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship Regatta, and third at the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Championships.
For her efforts, Cirelli was elected as a representative of the Baldwin Athletic Association. She served as a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the Modern Science Club, was a peer counselor, a four-year volleyball player, and three-year soccer player in high school.
Cissel, a 5-7 Varsity Eights rower from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was a four-year rower and captain her senior year at the Pine Crest School.
As a senior, her crew finished second at Head of the Indian Creek and second scholastically at the Florida Scholastic Rowing Association (FSRA) State Championships.
Cissel’s crew was also invited to attend the SRAA Nationals. Cissel served on Pine Crest’s student council and this past year served as head of the Community Service Board, logging more than 300 community service hours.
Diverio, a 4-9 coxswain from Newton, N.J., was a member of the Mountain Lakes Rowing Club and the Unity Crew Rowing Club. As a member of the Mountain Lakes Rowing Club she coxed the Varsity Fours and, most recently, the Varsity Lightweight Fours. This past spring her crew placed third at the Cooper Cup and was invited to the USRowing Youth Nationals where the unit played fourth in the B Final.
She was a four-year member of the Gill St. Bernard’s School Diversity Organization, participated in Habitat for Humanity, and was a senior peer leader.
Dolson, a 5-2 coxswain from Silver Spring, Md., was a four-year team member at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, serving as a captain as both a junior and senior.
During the 2010-2011 season, Dolson was the Varsity Eights coxswain, leading her crew to a fifth place finish in the petite final at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championship and to a semifinal appearance at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. She was an academic standout, served as a peer educator, devoted time to multiple school retreats, and served as president of the Operation Smile Club.
Flood, a 5-8 rower from Ridgewood, N.J., was a four-year member of the Ridgewood High School team.
In 2010 she earned a gold medal at the North Jersey Championships in the Junior Varsity Eights division before moving to the Varsity Fours in 2011.
Flood was a three-year member of the Adventure Leadership Peer Support, an outdoor adventure-based leadership club, and volunteered at Camp Sunshine, a summer program for children and adults with severe disabilities.
Kulek, a 5-8 rower from Suffern N.Y., was a two-year member of the crew team at Suffern High School. She rowed in the Varsity Fours and placed first in the Rockland County Championships. She was also a four-year tennis player, serving as team captain her senior year, and was a two-year member of the ski team.
Kulek participated in the National Math Honor Society, Recycling Club, and Junior State of America. She also volunteered at a tennis clinic, teaching children who have never played tennis, and also worked as a peer leader.
Majcher, a 5-7 crew member from Lutz, Fla., was a three-year rower at Absegami High School in New Jersey before graduating from Steinbrenner High School in Tampa, Fla. in June.
During the 2011 spring season she rowed for the Varsity Fours team, which won the FSRA West District Championships and placed fourth at the FSRA State Championships.
At Absegami, her Varsity Eights crew placed first at the New Jersey Scholastic Championships. She was also member of Absegami’s marching band.
Manner, a 5-10 lightweight rower from Oak Hill, Va., was a four-year member and senior captain at Oakton High School.
Manner’s Varsity Lightweight Fours crew won the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championship and advanced to the semifinals at both the Stotesbury Cup Regatta and the SRAA Regatta.
She was a camp counselor of Jump Start, participated with Helping Hungry Kids, served on Oakton’s school environmental club, and was a member of the National Art Honor Society.
Noce, a 5-2 coxswain from Baldwinsville, N.Y., was a four-year member and senior captain with the Baldwinsville School crew team while also competing for the Syracuse Chargers Club team.
In 2011 she coxed her Varsity Fours team to a fourth place finish at the New York State Scholastic Championships and a sixth place finish at the SRAA Nationals. For her efforts, she was selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player.
Noce was also a member of the Spanish Honor Society, Key Club, and the Future Artists Club at Charles W. Baker High School. She was also selected as an All-District Scholar-Athlete.
The Blue Hens finished second at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern Regional and fifth at the CAA Championships in the only team scoring events this past season. Delaware will begin its non-traditional season this September.
