May 5, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The San Diego State women's rowing team won five medals in eight of its events at the annual Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championship regatta this past weekend at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. The regatta featured men's and women's rowing teams from 31 colleges and universities across the western United States. All races were 2000 meters with heats on Saturday and finals on Sunday.
For the first time in the history of the program, the Aztec lightweights captured the WIRA championship trophy in the lightweight eight race, winning the gold medal in a time of 7:20.9. The winning line up, currently ranked eighth in the nation according to the USRowing coaches' poll, was Amanda Briggs (stroke), Vanessa Kenley, Ellen Wilson, Amanda Corvera, Kelcey Stricker, Rachael Vrooman, Jamie Willeford, Katie Lee (bow) and Laurie Nakamura (coxswain).
The lightweight four event was dominated by the San Diego State crew after advancing through the heats. The Aztecs walked away from the pack in the Grand Final with a first-place time of 7:45.7. UCSB (7:50.0) finished second while California (8:03.6) came in third.
Highlights from the weekend also included crews from the SDSU varsity eight, second varsity eight, women's pair and varsity four advancing to the finals.
The varsity eight placed sixth overall in the 20-boat race. The Aztec shell used a lineup of Stephanie Snaman (stroke) Ashley Paiko, Brittany McMahon, Alicia Stuebner, Amy Opielowski, Kristin Olson, Stephanie Loutas, Venesa Meses (bow) and Alicia Chudy (coxswain). Loyola Marymount University took first place in a time of 6:46.3.
The women's second varsity eight placed third in the grand final behind Gonzaga University and Sacramento State to earn the bronze medal. The lineup consisted of Amber Kerns (stroke), Stella Conger, Kate Stromberg, Sarah McKillip, Sarah Fox, Krista Lysogorski, Rachel Saldivar, Rebecca Cattaneo (bow), and Alison Abrams (coxswain).
The Aztecs won the bronze medal in the 14-boat varsity four event. Top crews were Seattle Pacific University (7:15.5) followed by Pacific Lutheran (7:18.3) and SDSU (7:20.9). The Aztecs won the silver medal in the women's pair in a time of 8:24.2, as SDSU was edged out by University of Puget Sound by less than one second (8:23.1) in what proved to be one of the closest races at the WIRA championships.
Three Aztecs were named to the all-WIRA team in McKillip, Briggs and Snaman.
"We had a solid weekend, things look bright for the SDSU Crew. I was especially proud of the way our team conducted itself at the Championships," said San Diego State head coach Scott Steckel.
Up next for San Diego State, the Aztecs prepare for the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships, held May 17, at Lake Natoma.