April 7, 2006

SAN DIEGO -

SDSU Women's Crew Weekly Release in PDF Format
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LOCAL BRAGGING RIGHTS ON THE LINE AS AZTEC ROWERS PREPARE FOR SAN DIEGO CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS
* Fresh off its successful showing at the San Diego Crew Classic, the San Diego State women's rowing team returns to action this weekend to compete in the San Diego City Championships Saturday, April 8, at Tecolote Channel on Mission Bay. Local braggings rights are on the line as the Aztecs square off against crews from the University of San Diego and UC San Diego, beginning at 8 a.m.

Saturday's regatta commences with the junior varsity eight competition with SDSU scheduled to launch two boats in the event. The scarlet and black will also have single entries in the varsity eight (8:45 a.m.), novice eight (9:15 a.m.), varsity four (9:45 a.m.) and novice four (10:15 a.m.) categories. An awards ceremony will cap off the day's activities at 10:30 a.m.

REWIND: 2006 SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSIC
* The San Diego State women's rowing team had four crews compete last Sunday during the final day of competition at the 33rd Annual San Diego Crew Classic, held at Crown Point Shores on Mission Bay. The women's open boat captured fourth place in the grand final of the Carly Copley Cup, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:47.83, ahead of River City (7:57.00) and Arizona Rowing (8:10.36) club teams. California won the championship race with a 7:18.60 clocking.

"Overall, I thought it was a fairly successful weekend," said Aztec head coach Jennifer Zebroski. "This was the first time in my four years here that we've had all four boats compete in either the petite or grand finals of the Crew Classic, and I think that's a tribute to all of the hard work that we've put in and the depth of our program."

In perhaps the most exciting race for the Aztecs on the day, SDSU placed third in the petite final of the junior varsity category with a time of 7:06.53, slipping by Texas (7:06.55) at the wire in a thrilling finish. It was a satisfying turn of events for the scarlet and black crew, which saw the Longhorns beat them by three seconds in Saturday's preliminary heat.

In the women's collegiate novice race, SDSU recorded a fifth-place finish in the petite final with a time of 7:37.56, completing the course comfortably ahead of Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association archrival Loyola Marymount (7:48.68).

The Aztec varsity placed fifth in the petite final of the prestigious Jessop-Whittier Cup with a 6:53.57 clocking, finishing behind Texas (6:46.95) but well out in front of Purdue (7:04.95) in a highly-competitive field.

Meanwhile, Saturday's action was highlighted by a first-place finish by the women's open boat in the third preliminary heat of the Carly Copley Cup competition. SDSU crossed the finish line with a winning time of of 7:20.40, edging out Riverside Boat Club (7:20.94) in an extremely close race. The Aztec crew had had the fourth-fastest time in all three heats, trailing California (6:59.80), Notre Dame (7:09.30) and San Diego Rowing Club (7:17.33).

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DIRECTIONS TO 2006 SAN DIEGO CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS
From I-5 North:
Take Clairemont Dr. Exit; turn left (west) towards Mission Bay. Turn left again at stop sign onto East Mission Bay Drive (south). Drive past "Leisure Lagoon" and Hilton Hotel (about half a mile). Spectators may want to park in the parking lot just past the Hilton Hotel (on the right). There is a walkway along the course, so spectators can cycle around to watch parts of the races. There is also a picnic area available with restrooms.

From I-5 South:
Take Clairemont Dr. Exit; turn right (west) towards Mission Bay. Turn left at stop sign onto East Mission Bay Drive and proceed using the same directions as above.

Returning to Freeway:
Proceed south on East Mission Bay Drive to Sea World Drive. Turn left on Sea World Drive. Entrance to I-5 south will be on the right, while entrance to I-5 north will be on the left.