April 23, 2006
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. - In its final tune-up of the regular season, the San Diego State women's rowing team had four crews compete Sunday morning at the 31st Annual Miller Cup Regatta on Ballona Creek in Marina Del Rey, Calif. The Aztecs' junior varsity eight and varsity four boats took second and third in the grand finals of their respective events, while the varsity eight crew captured a bittersweet victory in the petite final of its race.
After emerging triumphant in the preliminary heat, the SDSU junior varsity boat raced to a runner-up finish in the grand final with a time of 6:57.7, over 10 seconds in front of cross-town rival San Diego (7:08.3). The Aztecs' varsity four crew was also victorious in its opening heat, before placing third in the grand final with a 6:48.2 clocking.
In the varsity eight competition, SDSU was in hot pursuit of Loyola Marymount during the last half of its preliminary heat, before a strange twist of fate doomed the scarlet and black. The Aztecs were able to close within one boat length of their front-running archrival when suddenly one of the oars caught a crab at approximately the 700-meter mark, slowing the momentum of the boat. The mishap cost SDSU valuable seconds and ultimately a berth in the grand final.
The Aztecs regrouped, however, to claim the petite final with a winning time of 6:30.2, over five seconds ahead of USD (6:35.6). SDSU's clocking was also 12 seconds faster than UC Santa Barbara (6:42.3), which took third place in the grand final.
"It was frustrating for that to happen today," said SDSU head coach Jennifer Zebroski. "We were as close to LMU (in the varsity boat) as we had been all season. But that's rowing. However, the fact that we were able to come back and get the third-best overall time (in that event) is very encouraging, and I think that will bode well for us next weekend."
Meanwhile, in its only race of the day, the Aztecs' novice eight boat came in third with a time of 7:05.2, behind runner-up UCSB (6:49.7) and first-place UCLA (6:45.8).
SDSU will return to action next weekend when it travels north for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, scheduled for April 29-30, on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Miller Cup Regatta
Ballona Creek--Marina Del Rey, Calif.
(All races 2,000 meters except where noted)
Preliminaries
Varsity Eight
Heat `A'
1. UCLA (6:28.6), 2. UC Santa Barbara (6:41.1); 3. USD (6:42.5).
Heat `B'
1. Loyola Marymount (6:35.0); 2. SDSU (6:45.2); 3. UC Irvine (7:01.1).
Junior Varsity Eight
Heat `A'
1. UCLA (6:35.5), 2. LMU (6:49.0); 3. UCSB (7:20.0).
Heat `B'
1. SDSU (6:40.2); 2. USD (6:47.2).
Varsity Four
Heat `A'
1. UCLA (7:22.1); 2. USD (7:35.7); 3. UCSB (8:26.3).
Heat `B'
1. SDSU (7:21.2); 2. LMU (7:23.0); 3. UCI (7:48.1).
Finals
Novice Eight
Grand Final only
1. UCLA (6:45.8); 2. UCSB (6:49.7); 3. SDSU (7:05.2).
Varsity Eight
Petite
1. SDSU (6:30.2); 2. USD (6:35.6); 3. UCI (6:55.2).
Grand
1. UCLA (6;19.4); 2. LMU (6:25.4); 3. UCSB (6:42.3)
Junior Varsity Eight
Petite
1. LMU (7:03.0); UCSB (7:31.9). Grand Final
1. UCLA (6:43.3); 2. SDSU (6:57.7); 3. USD (7:08.3).
Varsity Four (1,750 Meters)
Petite
1. USD (6:59.26); 2. UCI (7:06.5); 3. UCSB (7:49.0).
Final
1. UCLA (6:26.3); 2. LMU (6:37.2); 3. SDSU (6:48.2).
Miller Cup Regatta Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Raelyn Drury
Stroke: Amanda Briggs
Seven: Nancy Balt
Six: Mia Lysen
Five: Mary Von Urff
Four: Julie Boerger
Three: Robin Lauber
Two: Katie Heisinger
Bow: Tashina Vavuris
Novice Eight
Cox: Claire O'Connor
Stroke: Asha Aker
Seven: Natalie Keshlear
Six: Kelley Stewart
Five: Christy Barni
Four: Diana Bustos
Three: Candyce Martinez
Two: Taryn Hodges
Bow: Sara Wilkinson
Junior Varsity Eight
Cox: Raelyn Drury
Stroke: Allison Hardin
Seven: Audrey Edney
Six: Caitlin Weber
Five: Kim Dale
Four: Kaitlin Drake
Three: Ashley Pfohl
Two: Kaitlin Farnham
Bow: Christine Dickson
Varsity Four
Cox: Aileen Gonzales
Stroke: Erika Blair
Three: Rachael Brockett
Two: Jessica Hays
Bow: Korina Tonne