SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State rowing team opened their spring season competition with a scrimmage against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota Saturday morning on Mission Bay.
Each team competed a first and second eight and a first and second four. All four eights competed against each other in a series of four mini-races, each 1250 meters long. The races were done at a controlled stroke rate and coaches could switch their lineups from race to race to try different combinations. The four fours did the same routine in a different portion of the bay.
"We had perfect conditions this morning," Head coach Bill Zack said afterwards. "Both teams were pretty evenly matched, so we had very competitive racing. We learned we need to improve on finding and keeping the race rhythm. The team left the bay feeling energized for this week's training and city scrimmage."
The San Diego State first eight was stroked by freshman Emmie Frederico, a U19 international from Melbourne, Australia. The boat was coxed by junior co-captain Hannah Broadland, who has won a national championship in the women's eight and is a bronze medalist at the World University Championships. Others in the first boat lineup included junior Julia Camillucci, who attended the USRowing U23 Olympic Development Camp in August 2019.
"We had a strong performance overall as a team," co-captain Hannah Broadland explained. "We definitely showcased strong improvements compared to our times and fitness at this time last year. We were hoping to sweep a win all around, but we maintained a positive and strong mentality. We are very excited to tackle the next few months and continue to progress as a team."
The Aztec second eight was stroked by junior Maire Shannon Malloy. Malloy stroked the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club to a silver medal at the USRowing Youth National Championships her senior year in high school. Sophomores Bella de Avila and Madison Fisk split the coxswain duties. Also making her Aztec debut was redshirt freshman Clare Botterill from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Botterill competed on the University of Washington soccer team as a freshman, moved back home and started rowing with the Calgary Rowing Club, and transferred to SDSU starting this semester.
The Aztecs return to the waters of Mission Bay on Saturday, February 15 in a city-wide scrimmage with UC San Diego and USD.