Friday, May 15
Lake Natoma / Sacramento, CA
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
WCC Championships
ROW | Gaels Close Out 2026 Season with a Fifth-Place Finish at WCC Championships
5/16/2026 12:00:00 PM | Women's Rowing
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On both Friday and Saturday the Saint Mary's rowing team competed in the West Coast Conference Championships, as the Gaels 2V4+, 1V4+, 2V8+, and 1V8+ each qualified for the Grand Finals, battling valiantly in those races to earn a top half finish, earning fifth place in the 10 team field.
On Friday, the Gaels kicked off the day as they competed in the second heat of the 2V4+ race, where Saint Mary's finished third with a time of 8:07.867, crossing the finish line just under four seconds behind Portland to secure a spot in Saturday's Grand Final. The 1V4+ crew also advanced after posting a time of 8:05.643, finishing ahead of Creighton, who posted a time of 8:19.663.
The Gaels continued the momentum in the 2V8+ race, as the crew placed second in their heat in 7:10.517, finishing only behind No. 20 nationally ranked Oregon State to move to the Grand Final. The 1V8+ boat earned the final spot in the Grand Final with a time of 7:01.793, clinching their fourth Grand Final appearance of the weekend.
On Saturday, Saint Mary's competed in all four Grand Finals against the WCC's top crews. The 2V4+ crew finished sixth overall with a time of 8:16.046, while the 1V4+ crew placed fifth with a three second advantage over Portland.
In the 2V8+ race, the Gaels finished fourth overall in 7:20.400, ahead of both Portland and San Diego, holding off a late surge from both Pilots and Toreros to earn that spot. Saint Mary's closed out the weekend in the 1V8+ race, battling through a hiccup at the start to finish with a time of 7:14.540.
"This was a great year for us and we ended on a strong note at the Championship," said head coach Brian Ebke. "On Friday, we placed all four of our boats into the A Final, accomplishing one of our big team goals for the year. On Saturday, we raced hard across all our boats and were excited to move up to 5th from our 6th place team finish last year."
Ebke continued, "This was a big step forward for us and continues the improvement we've made in the last 4 years. The 2V8+ was a highlight of the day, finishing 4th in a close race. We return 8 out of 9 of those athletes next year and are looking forward to seeing what they can do on our team with another year of experience. Our 1V4+ did a great job coming in fifth and helping to put more points between us and Sac State."
"Our 2V4+ also raced hard to come sixth in a tough A Final. The 1V8+ had a technical issue at the start that stopped the whole boat long enough that they never had a chance to really race, and although that was extremely disappointing, those athletes have led the way for the team this year and did a great job of staying together and celebrating the team's success after a hard break for them."
Looking ahead, Coach Ebke highlighted excitement about the future of the program. "We have 7 awesome seniors leaving us this year, but 13 excited freshmen coming in and a big group of returners hungry to keep making progress within our conference so things are looking really great for the Gaels and we are excited for what's next!"
The Gaels ended the WCC Championships with a fifth-place finish overall out of ten competing teams. This is a one spot improvement over last year's finish, and marks the second highest finish in Head Coach Brian Ebke's tenure. At the culmination of the second day of racing, 1V8+ stroke Carolyn Huckel and seven seat Katelyn Robertson were named to the All-WCC team. This is Robertson's second All-WCC nod, and Huckel's first.
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Event |
1V8+ |
2V8+ |
1V4+ |
2V4+ |
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Coxswain |
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Stroke |
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7 |
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6 |
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5 |
Maria Moreno |
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4 |
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3 |
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2 |
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Bow |
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
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