LAKE NATOMA, Calif. — With the additions of Washington State and Oregon State in the offseason, paired with regular conference front runners Gonzaga and San Diego, the WCC looked stronger than ever this season, and that was on display at the 2025 WCC Rowing Championship today. The Gaels competed in all four grand finals after qualifying yesterday, the first and second varsity fours and the first and second varsity eights, and Saint Mary's had the opportunity to show how they stacked up against some of the top rowing talent on the west coast.
The second varsity four boat got things going first. The Gaels and Portland Pilots rowed a tightly contested race throughout, staying within two seconds of one another throughout the race. At the halfway mark, the Gaels brought themselves within 0.6 seconds of the Pilots, but their conference foes from one state up were able to hold them off by a narrow 1.7 second margin.
The first varsity fours were next on the water, and found themselves locked up in another tight one, this time with Sacramento State, trailing the Hornets by half of a second through the first 500m. Unfortunately, the Hornets and the rest of the field were able to pull away from the Gaels in this one, with the Gaels finishing just inside of eight seconds behind Sacramento State.
Clouds gave way to sunshine and clearer conditions as the eight boats hit the water. In the second varsity eight grand final, the Gaels got off to their best start of the day thus far, jumping into fourth place through the first 500m in the six team field. Both San Diego and Sacramento State were able to overtake the Gaels by the halfway mark, as Saint Mary's found themselves 2.5 seconds behind the Hornets. That gap was closed to just a one second differential with 500m to go, but again, the Hornets were able to outlast the Gaels in this one.
In the marquee race of the event, the first varsity eight boats closed things out. The entire field was separated by just 7.1 seconds through the first 500 meters. The Gaels held a 1.4 second lead on the Toreros of the University of San Diego at the halfway point, and while the Toreros did everything they could to keep pace with the Gaels, pulled ahead to best USD by a two second margin.
Conference newcomers Oregon State won the WCC in their first year, winning all three scorable races.
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