March 24, 2003

LONG BEACH, Calif. - San Diego State's lightweight crew team defeated Long Beach State and Chapman University Sunday morning at the Long Beach Spring Invitational. SDSU completed the 2000meter course in a time of 6:59.0, followed by LBSU, which clocked in at 7:03.1, and Chapman University, which finished at 7:07.5.

The race was the first this season for the lightweight squad, six of whom had never competed in the 2000meter at the collegiate level. The Aztecs overcame an early charge by the 49ers and Chapman to pull even at the halfway mark of the race. Freshman coxswain Laurie Nakamura then called for a "power twenty" to guide the Aztecs to push out to a one boat-length lead en route to the team's victory.

"We were excited going into this race," said lightweight captain Amanda Corvera. "We knew we were a pretty good crew, but we hadn't proved it yet. Now that we have a little race experience, we can continue to improve."

Aztec head coach Scott Steckel said the race against the 49ers, who were consistently ranked in the top 20 last year, was a good opportunity for the lightweights to gain valuable experience against a good opponent.

"It's just what the lightweights needed. I am proud of them," Steckel said. "They will have to keep training hard to be able to compete for a spot in the Grand Final at the San Diego Crew Classic next week."

The lightweights return to action April 5-6 at the San Diego Crew Classic where they will take on Wisconsin and Stanford, who finished second and sixth, respectively, at last year's national championships.

Lightweight 2000meter
SDSU        6:59.0
LBSU        7:03.1
Chapman     7:07.5

SDSU Lineup
Cox              Laurie Nakamura
Stroke          Ellen Wilson
Seven           Vanessa Kenley
Six               Amanda Briggs
Five             Amanda Corvera
Four             Kelcey Stricker
Three           Rachael Vrooman
Two             Jamie Willeford
Bow             Katie Lee