ROW | Varsity Eight Places Second in Grand Finals
5/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's rowing team had a historic day on Sunday, with two boats winning medals and all four boats competing in the grand finals at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Sunday. The varsity-8 boat and varsity-4 boat both ended up on the medals podium with four Gaels being named to the WIRA first team.
The varisty-4 boat got the afternoon started placing third and winning bronze. The Gaels finished the race with a time of 7:57.0 just behind Sacramento State's time of 7:40.5 and Gonzaga who finished with a time of 7:25.5. The Gaels defeated boats from San Diego State and Loyola Marymount who finished in 8:03.7 and 8:30.8 respectively.
"The Varsity 4 had lost to San Diego State just a few weeks ago, so it was huge for them to come back and beat them by six seconds," said head coach Nicole Younts. "They were the first final of the day for us and really got the team pumped up with their finish."
The lineup for the varisty-4 boat was: Bennett Collier (Coxswain), Nicolette Pierantoni (stroke), Julia Turner, Rachel Alvarez, Becca Beutler. Pierantoni was selected to the WIRA First Team for the varsity-4 event.
The women's novice-4 boat was up next for the Gaels, and finished fourth with a time of 8:07.9, coming in just behind San Diego, Western Washington and Willamette. The Gaels defeated Puget Sound and Sacramento State.
"The Novice-4 has come a long way this year. There were 14 entries in their event and we knew it would be a battle just to make the Grand Final. They really took on the pressure of raceday and used it to finish 4th overall. They were disappointed to be just out of the medals, but they lost to some fast crews. I was really proud of the way they raced this weekend," said Younts.
The lineup for the novice-4 boat was: Jessica Sin (Coxswain), Katie McCollam (stroke), Mari Irby, Lynette Sandoval, Kylene Gilmore.
The second varsity-8 placed fifth in the grand finals, coming in just behind San Diego State. The Gaels finished with a time of 7:14.7. Gonzaga won the race, followed by Sacramento State, LMU and the Aztecs. The lineup for the 2V8 boat was: Natalie Livingston (Coxswain), Brandy Cho (stroke), Nathalie Lambrecht, Kira Paulin, Caitlin Evans, Allison McKenzie, Katie Wahl, Tessa Cunha, Alex Iwaszewicz.
"The 2V had a solid race. Credit to the other teams, we just didn't match their speed today," said Younts about the second varsity-8 race.
The highlight of the day was the varsity-8 race. The Gaels were in a tight battle between Gonzaga and Sacramento State for first. The Bulldogs won the race finishing with a time of 6:43.5, SMC finished just behind them with a time of 6:45.5, edging out the Hornets who finished third with a time of 6:45.0. The Stanford Lightweights finished in fourth with a time of 6:48.4, followed by UC Davis (6:52.3) and LMU (6:56.8).
"We knew the V8 final would be tight and it was. Credit to Gonzaga, they were out in front from 500m. We had to move through Stanford and Sac State to get to the podium. This is the highest finish our V8 has had at WIRAs and I am so happy for this crew," said Younts.
The lineup for the varsity-8 boat was: Chelsea Serrano (Coxswain), Haley Adams (stroke), Michelle Felmlee-Gartner, Dana Cook, Maryann Concannon, Deanna Estes, Stacey Boss, Christina Bennett, Savina Brown. Serrano, Adams and Concannon were all selected to the WIRA First Team.
The Gaels will return to the water in two weeks, on Saturday, May 12 for the West Coast Conference Championships in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Results
Varsity Four Grand Final
Gonzaga 7:25.5
Sac State 7:40.4
Saint Mary's 7:57.0
SDSU 8:03.7
LMU 8:30.8
Novice Four Grand Final
USD 7:38.7
WWU 7:46.5
Willamette 7:51.5
Saint Mary's 8:07.9
UPS 8:14.1
Sac State 8:20.0
2nd Varsity Eight Grand Final
Gonzaga 6:47.8
Sac State 6:59.4
LMU 7:09.1
SDSU 7:11.7
Saint Mary's 7:14.7
Varsity Eight Grand Final
Gonzaga 6:43.5
Saint Mary's 6:45.5
Sac State 6:46.0
Stanford Lightweights 6:48.4
UCD 6:52.3
LMU 6:56.8
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