May 2, 2002

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This Week
The San Diego State rowing program heads to Sacramento this weekend for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. Sacramento State will serve as host of the 28-team event which will be held Saturday and Sunday on Lake Natoma. Saturday's regatta will consist of 47 races (21 on the women's side), beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing to 5 p.m. Sunday's competition, which includes grand finals for each event, consists of 23 races (12 on the women's side). Admission to both days of racing is free. A total of 16 schools will be competing in the varsity eight championships, with SDSU receiving a five seed. The Aztecs enter the WIRA event after winning last weekend's Norman P. Miller Cup.

SDSU's Race Schedule

Novice Four (Heat 1)         8:20 a.m.
Varsity Four (Heat 1)        10:30 a.m.
Novice Eight (Heat 1)        11:30 a.m.
2nd Varsity Eight (Heat 1)   12:30 p.m.
Varsity Eight (Heat 3)       1:10 p.m.

Recapping The Miller Cup
The Aztecs won Saturday's Norman P. Miller Cup, racing to a time of 7:09.3 and outdistancing the University of San Diego (7:10.6) and Loyola Marymount (7:19.9). The win in the varsity eight was on one of four grand final victories on the day for the Aztecs. SDSU's varsity eight squad qualified for the grand final after placing first in heat one of the prelims, with a time of 7:53.5. SDSU's other top finishes in the grand finals came in the novice four (8:47.3), second novice eight (8:16.4) and second varsity eight (7:32.5). The Aztecs finished second in the novice eight grand final, clocking in at 7:34.7.

A Year Ago
The highlight of the Aztecs' competition in last year's WIRA Championships was a first-place finish in the varsity four race. SDSU finished with a time of 7:37.0, just a second ahead of Seattle Pacific. SDSU also clocked in second in the novice eight (7:27.8) and novice four (8:14. The program also recorded fifth-place finishes in the varsity eight (7:02.6) and second varsity eight (7:29.2) competitions.

Aztec Coaching Staff
SDSU is led by fifth-year head coach Scott Steckel. Steckel is assisted by Kevin Waldick, who is in his fourth year with the Aztec program and first-year assistant Meredith Johnson. Steckel is a 1994 graduate of San Diego State and has coached the program since 1993 when it was a club sport. Waldick is also an SDSU alum and rowed on the school's men's club team from 1992-96. Johnson is also a graduate of SDSU and was an All-American rower for the Aztecs in 2000.