May. 1, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The lightweight eight boat won the grand final to lead the San Diego State crew team on the final day of competition at the WIRA Championships at Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Calif., on Sunday afternoon. The Aztecs also received the team points trophy, an award given to the team with the most overall points in their respective events.
The lightweights took first of four boats with a time of 7 minutes, 6.4 seconds. The SDSU boat was followed by UC Santa Barbara (7:10.6), Loyola Marymount (7:22.8) and California (7:28.1).
The novice eight and second varsity eight boats also participated in Sunday's grand final. The novice boat finished just 1.3 seconds back of first place Sacramento State (7:06.5) with a time of 7:07.8, and finished ahead of four other teams, including city-rivals UC San Diego (7:13.7) and San Diego (7:14.5).
The second varsity boat finished fourth (7:08.1) in its respective heat, narrowly defeating the Puget Sound (7:08.3) and Loyola Marymount (7:09.8) boats.
In petite final action, the varsity eight boat finished in third place within three seconds of UC Davis (6:53.7). Following UC Davis were UC Santa Barbara (6:54.9), SDSU (6:56.6), Santa Clara (7:09.0) and St. Mary's (7:13.1).
The Aztecs will continue their championship season on May 14 at the Pacific Rowing Championships, followed by the Pac-10 Rowing Championships on May 15. Both events will be held on the shores of Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif.
2005 WIRA Championships
Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Calif.
SDSU Races Only
Novice Eight Grand Final
1. Sacramento State, 7:06.5; 2. SDSU, 7:07.8; 3. UC Davis, 7:11.9; 4. UC San Diego, 7:13.7; 5. San Diego, 7:14.5; 6. Orange Coast College, 7:25.5
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
1. Gonzaga, 6:57.8; 2. Sacramento State, 6:59.6; 3. UC Davis, 6:59.7; 4. SDSU, 7:08.1; 5. Puget Sound, 7:08.3; 6. Loyola Marymount, 7:09.8.
Lightweight Eight Grand Final
1. SDSU, 7:06.4; 2. UC Santa Barbara, 7:10.6; 3. Loyola Marymount, 7:22.8; 4. California, 7:28.1
Varsity Eight Petite Final
1. UC Davis, 6:53.7; 2. UC Santa Barbara, 6:54.9; 3. SDSU, 6:56.6; 4. Santa Clara, 7:09.0; 5. St. Mary's, 7:13.1