SAN DIEGO – Four Aztec rowers have earned nods for the 2019 all-WIRA team, the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association announced. Sophomore Hannah Broadland and freshman Helen Bauer earned spots on the women's first team, while junior Alana Grollo and senior Brooke Hepner were named to the women's second team.
In addition to the Aztec rowers who earned nods following the 2019 WIRA Championships last month, SDSU head coach Bill Zack was selected as the women's Coach of the Year by the Association.
The Aztecs earned gold medals in the varsity four, second varsity four and varsity eight events, and claimed bronze in the varsity eight final of the 2019 WIRA Championships. The SDSU varsity four crew also earned a conference Boat of the Week honor from the American for their performance at the race weekend.
Broadland and Bauer competed in the bronze medal-winning varsity eight boat, with Broadland steering the crew at coxswain and Bauer racing from the stroke seat. After putting up a first-place time in their heat, the V8 finished third with a time of 6:40.899 behind Stanford Lightweight and USD.
Grollo raced at WIRA from the six seat of the second varsity eight, which finished first in both its prelim heat and final event, completing the latter with a time of 6:46.176. Fellow second-team selection Hepner served as the stroke for the Aztec varsity four, which also shaved time off its first-place prelim finish and claimed gold in the final with a time of 7:26.851.
Selection to the all-WIRA first team is based on finishing in the top three positions of either the Division I or DII/DIII/Club V8 events, while selection to the all-WIRA second team is based on a top-three finish in the DI 2V8, DII/DIII/Club 2V8, DI V4, DII/DIII/Club V4 or V4 lightweight.
San Diego State prepares to compete at the American Athletic Conference Championship, scheduled for Sunday, May 19, in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the US Rowing National High Performance Center, where heats are set to begin at 8 a.m. CT.