April 27, 2006

SAN DIEGO -

SDSU Women's Crew Weekly Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

SDSU WOMEN'S CREW HITS THE ROAD THIS WEEKEND FOR WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS
* The San Diego State women's rowing team heads back to Northern California this weekend to compete at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, April 29-30, along the shores of Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. The Aztecs are scheduled to launch five boats in their second-to-last regatta of the season, including crews in the varsity eight, junior varsity eight, varsity four, novice eight and women's pair races.

The two-day competition is scheduled to commence on Saturday, starting with preliminary heats at 8 a.m., followed by third and petite finals in select events at 1:40 p.m. Grand finals in each category will be contested on Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m., along with third and petite finals in the junior varsity eight and varsity eight divisions.

SDSU will be making its second visit of the season to Lake Natoma after splitting four events in a dual race with Sacramento State on March 12. The Aztecs notched victories in the junior varsity and varsity four competition against their WIRA rivals.

The WIRA consists of 29 rowing programs, including 17 member institutions from the state of California. Among the teams slated to compete at this weekend's regatta will be Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, as well as cross-town rivals UC San Diego and San Diego.

FLASHBACK: 2005 WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS
* The San Diego State women's rowing team completed a successful weekend at the 2005 WIRA Championships, earning the team points trophy on the strength of a first-place finish by the Aztecs' lightweight eight boat.

The lightweights crossed the finish line with a winning time of 7:06.4, over four seconds in front of UC Santa Barbara (7:10.6) and comfortably ahead of Loyola Marymount (7:22.8) and California (7:28.1).

SDSU narrowly missed its second victory of the day after a runner-up finish in the grand final of the novice eight race. The Aztecs' novice crew clocked in with a time of 7:07.8, just 1.3 seconds behind Sacramento State (7:06.5).

In the grand final of the junior varsity competition, SDSU placed fourth with a 7:08 clocking, crossing the finish line by a whisker over Puget Sound (7:08.3) and LMU (7:09.8).

Meanwhile, the Aztec varsity eight boat finished a close third (6:56.6) in in the petite final, trailing UC Davis (6:53.7) and UCSB (6:54.9) in an extremely tight race.

RECAPPING THE 2006 MILLER CUP REGATTA
* In its final tune-up of the regular season, the San Diego State women's rowing team had four crews compete at the 31st Annual Miller Cup Regatta on April 23, in Marina Del Rey, Calif. The Aztecs' junior varsity eight and varsity four boats took second and third in the grand finals of their respective events, while the varsity eight crew captured a bittersweet victory in the petite final of its race.

After emerging triumphant in its preliminary heat, the SDSU junior varsity boat raced to a runner-up finish in the grand final with a time of 6:57.7, over 10 seconds in front of cross-town rival San Diego (7:08.3). The Aztecs' varsity four crew was also victorious in its open heat, before placing third in the grand final with a 6:48.2 clocking.

In varsity eight competition, SDSU was in hot pursuit of Loyola Marymount during the last half of its preliminary heat until a strange twist of fate doomed the scarlet and black. The Aztecs were able to close within one boat length of their front-running archrival when suddenly one of the oars caught a crab at approximately the 700-meter mark, slowing the momentum of the boat. The mishap cost SDSU valuable seconds and ultimately a berth in the grand final.

The Aztecs regrouped, however, to claim the petite final with a winning time of 6:30.2, over five seconds ahead of USD (6:35.6). SDSU's clocking was also 12 seconds faster than UC Santa Barbara (6:42.3), which took third place in the grand final shortly thereafter.

"It was frustrating for that to happen today," said SDSU head coach Jennifer Zebroski. "We were as close to LMU (in the varsity boat) as we had been all season. But that's rowing. However, the fact that we were able to come back and get the third-best overall time (in that event) is very encouraging, and I think that will bode well for us (at the WIRA Championships).

Meanwhile, in its only race of the day, the Aztecs' novice eight boat came in third with a time of 7:05.2, behind runner-up UCSB (6:49.7) and first-place UCLA (6:45.8).

LOOKING AHEAD
* Following the WIRA Championships, SDSU closes out the season with its third trip of the year to Lake Natoma for the Pac-10 Rowing Championships on May 14.

SATURDAY'S RACE SCHEDULE

Varsity Eight - DI/Open
SDSU - Heat 2 of 3
7 boats
10 a.m.

Novice Eight
SDSU - Heat 1 of 3
7 boats
10:40 a.m.

Varsity Four
SDSU - Heat 3 of 3
5 boats
Noon

Junior Varsity Eight
SDSU - Heat 1 of 2
6 boats
1:20 p.m.

Women's Pair
SDSU - Heat 1 of 2
Five boats
2:40 p.m.