March 29, 2008
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The San Diego State crew team picked up a pair of victories in a dual meet against Sacramento State Saturday morning on the shores of Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. The Aztecs came out victorious in the varsity eight race and went 1-2 in the novice eight event.
"I was very pleased with our overall performance today," head coach Jennifer Zebroski said. "We continue to improve each week and I'm confident we'll have a good go at it tomorrow (against UC Davis)."
In varsity eight action, SDSU broke open a tight race over the final 1,000 meters to finish with a time of 6 minutes, 49.0 seconds, almost five seconds ahead of the Hornets (6:53.7). The boat avenged losses from each of the past two seasons with a four-second improvement from last year (6:53.30) after a 6:59.0 clocking in 2006.
"I was happy with the way the varsity eights raced today," Zebroski said. "We were neck and neck through the 1,000-meter mark and pulled ahead at the end. We stuck to our race plan and looked confident and in control."
The second varsity eight race didn't go as well as San Diego State (7:11.1) fell to host Sacramento State (7:04.2).
"Our JV boat had the hardest time today," Zebroski said. "We didn't look as composed as (Sacramento State) until 1,500 meters or so. We will look forward to making the proper adjustments for tomorrow."
The Aztecs' (8:04.0) varsity four boat finished ahead of the Hornets' `B' boat (8:30.4), but was unable to catch their `A' boat, who rowed to a time of 7:56.9.
"I thought our varsity fours could have had more intensity and a better stroke rating," Zebroski said. "However, we did finish well ahead of (Sacramento State's) `B' boat and that is encouraging heading into tomorrow."
SDSU's novice eight `A' continued its dominance in the water with its third straight victory, this time clocking a time of 7:20.7. The novice eight `A' boat is now undefeated this season and has won two consecutive races at Sacramento State.
The novice `B' boat was right behind with a time of 7:27.2, while the Hornets were third in 7:30.6
"Both our novice eight boats had a great day," Zebroski said. "To have both finish ahead of their top boat was great to see."
The Aztecs continue their stay in Northern California with a dual meet against UC Davis on Sunday morning.
SDSU vs. Sacramento State
Rancho Cordova, Calif.
March 29, 2008
Varsity Eight
1. SDSU - 6:49.0
2. Sacramento State - 6:53.7
Second Varsity Eight
1. Sacramento State - 7:04.2
2. SDSU - 7:11.1
Varsity Four
1. Sacramento State `A' - 7:56.9
2. SDSU - 8:04.0
3. Sacramento State `B' - 8:30.4
Novice Eight
1. SDSU `A' - 7:20.7
2. SDSU `B' - 7:27.2
3. Sacramento State - 7:30.6