April 6, 2008

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's novice eight boat earned a runner-up finish in the grand final to lead the Aztec crew team on the final day of the San Diego Crew Classic Sunday on Crown Point Shores at Mission Bay. The novice eights capped a solid week for SDSU, which finished with one win and two other trips to the grand final in their respective races.

"(The San Diego Crew Classic) was a great weekend for our program," head coach Jennifer Zebroski said. "I thought it was an all-around strong performance for us. We got the chance to race against a lot of teams we don't normally see and were still able to do well."

San Diego State's novice eight boat took second with a time of 7 minutes, 5.68 seconds, less than two seconds behind first-place Washington State (7:03.90). Washington, who defeated the Aztecs in a preliminary heat on Saturday, was third (7:09.60), followed by UC Davis (7:18.72), USC (7:26.06) and Occidental CC (7:31.05).

"I was very proud of our novice eight boat," Zebroski said. "To beat Pac-10 boats Washington and USC really shows a lot about our program. I'm excited to watch them develop and I think our depth will help us next year at the varsity level."

In the varsity eight race, SDSU took fifth of six in the competitive grand final with a 6:59.30 clocking in a race won by UC Davis at 6:48.30. San Diego State finished ahead of Kansas State (7:02.15).

"Our varsity eight boat came in fifth, but made some great improvement," Zebroski said. "We were able to get off the line better and held our own through the 1,000-meter mark. We were able to close the gap. We know what we need to work on."

The second varsity eight boat rounded out the day the Aztecs with a sixth-place showing in a time of 6:55.14, just second behind fifth-place St. Joseph's (6:53.82).

"Our (second varsity eight) boat had a much better performance than yesterday," Zebroski said. "We were in the mix and hope to improve for this weekend's San Diego City Championships."

The Aztecs will compete in the San Diego City Championships on Saturday.

35th Annual San Diego Crew Classic
Crown Point Shores - Mission Beach, San Diego, Calif.
April 6, 2008

Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
1. UC Davis, 6:48.30
2. USD, 6:49.39
3. SUNY Buffalo, 6:51.41
4. Sac State, 6:53.96
5. SDSU, 6:59.30
6. Kansas State, 7:02.15.

Second Varsity Eight (Petite Final)
1. Louisville, 6:41.8
2. Kansas State, 6:48.08
3. Purdue, 6:50.41
4. USD, 6:52.84
5. St. Joseph's, 6:53.82
6. SDSU, 6:55.14

Novice Eight (Grand Final)
1. Washington State, 7:03.90
2. SDSU, 7:05.68
3. Washington, 7:09.60
4. UC Davis, 7:18.72
5. USC, 7:26.06
6. Occidental CC, 7:31.05

Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox - Caitlynn Crouch
Stroke - Casi Boyle
Seven - Jaime Hinton
Six - Alison Hardin
Five - Tashina Vavuris
Four - Anna Ohrstrom
Three - Chloe Wiegman
Two - Christine Dickson
Bow - Mary Anne Hinman

Junior Varsity Eight
Cox - Laura Norton
Stroke - Jenna Wood
Seven - Robin Lauber
Six - Melissa Carey
Five - Leslie Sexton
Four - Alyson Boyd
Three - Katie Stephenson
Two - Katie Rusch
Bow - Taylor Weirick

Novice Eight
Cox - Cassy Baleix
Stroke - Rachel Mossinger
Seven - Alanna Call
Six - Kelsey Anderson
Five - Katie Austin
Four - Kristin Guissanie
Three - Kassi Russell
Two - Ashley Kohler
Bow - Stacey Triche

Second Novice Eight
Cox - Jessica Nieto
Stroke - Stefanie Krach
Seven - Kristina Blanco
Six - Abby Kegel
Five - Morgan Roberts
Four - Lindsey Serhan
Three - Krista Kerth
Two - Christina Gamboa
Bow - Christina Mattos