GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The San Diego State rowing team competed in three preliminary events and one final event in the first day of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on Saturday, claiming the best time in all three prelims and gold in the second varsity four final.
"We are very happy with winning all four races and already having a set of gold medals for the flight home," head coach Bill Zack said after Saturday's events. "Each of the crews in the Sunday finals know that the racing will be very close and what they need to execute better in order to finish where we want to."
In the Aztecs' first event of the morning on Lake Natoma, the team's varsity eight crew finished with the fastest time of the second heat in 6:42.371. The second crew to finish was the Loyola Marymount V8 in 6:44.407, followed by University of Portland (6:51.944) and Saint Mary's (7:01.075). SDSU will be joined by LMU and University of Portland, as well as Stanford Lightweight, University of San Diego and conference foe Sacramento State in Sunday's final event at 8:30 a.m.
"In our heats, we raced Loyola Marymount University, University of Portland, and Saint Mary's College," sophomore coxswain Hannah Broadland said. "Off the start, we were up on Portland and Saint Mary's, but down two seats on LMU. We were able to move back up on LMU and earned a four-seat lead within the first 750 meters. We held that lead until the 500 meters to-go mark, then took three more seats of a lead in our sprint. We are racing Stanford Lightweights, University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount, Sacramento State, and University of Portland in the finals Sunday at 8:30 a.m. for medals."
The Scarlet and Black second varsity eight shared similar success, finishing with the best time of the second heat of the 2V8 prelims, completing the course in 6:57.754. The Aztecs came in with a solid margin over Stanford Lightweight (7:11.741), who were trailed by University of Portland (7:16.022) and Saint Mary's (7:34.155). The top three crews from heat two are set to compete against Sac State, LMU and USD in Sunday's final at 9:40 a.m.
The San Diego State varsity four came several seconds ahead of all its nearest competitor with a time of 7:39.760 in the 11:20 a.m. preliminary race. The nearest boat, LMU, finished in 7:44.085 and was followed closely by USD (7:44.274). The rest of the lanes were occupied by University of Portland (8:06.928), Sac State (8:11.103), Stanford Lightweight (8:27.808), and Saint Mary's (8:33.333). With the best prelim time, the Aztecs will race in lane one in Sunday's 10:30 a.m. final.
"Our team swept the first day at WIRAs, and the V4+ was no exception," freshman coxswain Madison Fisk said. "Off the start, we got out in front and stayed in front. LMU made a push as expected, but the boat was quick to respond and started opening up the gap we wanted approaching the sprint. The V4+ finished first with a 5-second lead and an official time of 7:39.7 in variable headwinds. Based on past races, I think we went out on the course this morning knowing exactly what we needed to do. We're pleased to have executed today and excited to proceed in raising the bar for ourselves tomorrow."
The second varsity four crews competed in a final-only event at 11:30 where the Aztecs claimed gold with a first-place time of 7:54.852, just over five seconds ahead of second place SeattleU (8:00.168). Sac State claimed a bronze with a time of 8:08.935, followed by USD (8:14.222), and Saint Mary's (8:49.760).
Links to a live video stream, as well as live results, for Sunday's final events will be available at GoAztecs.com. Following the WIRA Championships, San Diego State prepares for The American Conference Championships, which are set for Sunday, May 19, in Oklahoma City, Okla.
WIRA Championship
April 27, 2019
Lake Natoma (Gold River, Calif.)
Results
Varsity 8 Prelim – Heat 2
SDSU: 6:42.371
Loyola Marymount: 6:44.407
University of Portland: 6:51.944
Saint Mary's: 7:01.075
Second Varsity 8 Prelim – Heat 2
SDSU: 6:57.754
Stanford Lightweight: 7:11.741
University of Portland: 7:16.022
Saint Mary's: 7:34.155
Varsity Four Prelim
SDSU: 7:39.760
Loyola Marymount: 7:44.085
USD: 7:44.274
University of Portland: 8:06.928
Sacramento State: 8:11.103
Stanford Lightweight: 8:27.808
Saint Mary's: 8:33.333
Second Varsity Four – Final Only
SDSU: 7:54.852
Seattle University: 8:00.168
Sacramento State: 8:08.935
USD: 8:14.222
Saint Mary's: 8:49.760
Lineups
V8: Laura Keane (bow), Maia Graham (two), Greta Viss (three), Brooke Boron (four), Larisa Sulcs (five), Alexa Dietz (six), Kaytlin Barker (seven), Helen Bauer (stroke), Hannah Broadland (coxswain).
2V8: Hannah Norris (bow), Anastasia Vontzou (two), Malia Metkiff (three), Julia Camillucci (four), Michelle Jacob (five), Alana Grollo (six), Phoebe Dammersmith (seven), Maddie Bernard (stroke), Bella De Avila (coxswain).
V4: Deborah Worthey (bow), Grace Reginato (two), Maire Shannon Malloy (three), Brooke Hepner (stroke), Madison Fisk (coxswain).
2V4: Naomi Marroquin (bow), Kyler Sloan (two), Aleks Manikowska (three), Ellie Alexopoulos (stroke), Julie Santiago (coxswain).