2011 WIRA's Complete Results
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – The Santa Clara University men's crew team placed third among all West Coast Conference boats at the 2011 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Championships.
In a series of extremely competitive races, where the difference between the first-place boat and the 11th-place boat was within 10 seconds, the Broncos Varsity 8 posted their fastest time of the year and ended up 11th out of 18 boats overall and fifth in the Petite Final.
Saturday featured five boats racing in qualifying heats at Lake Natoma. The weather offered strong crosswinds, which gave the advantage to heavier crews.
The Broncos got fourth in their Varsity 8 heat, contending for second place with 500 meters to go against Sacramento State and UC Davis. UC San Diego – the eventual Varsity 8 winners – took that first heat, with UC Davis coming in second and Sac State third. Santa Clara placed third among all West Coast Conference boats, beating out Loyola Marymount, St. Mary's.
"We lost five guys from our team last year, and I have to admit these guys this year came a long way," said Santa Clara head coach Wieslaw Kujda. "We were just a few seconds behind, making up ground in the last month. We were right there, competing for medals."
Also on Saturday, the Novice 4 raced in a pair of heats, featuring four boats each. The Novice 4 did well, placing seventh overall in Sunday's Grand Final. Santa Clara's pair also qualified for the Grand Finals.
The Broncos Novice 8 qualified for the Petite Finals, which was a very close race, with five boats all finishing within one second of each other.
"We have such a big group of freshmen, and it was good to see them being so competitive. That is an exciting prospect for us and for the future," said Kujda. "Being so close with our Varsity 8 boat this year, I think these younger guys will close that gap next year."
With the future looking bright, the Broncos have realistic aspirations of winning another WCC trophy in 2012. Santa Clara was the fastest boat among all WCC schools a year ago.
June 28, 2011
Chris Freeburg receives Kolvenbach Award
May 16, 2011
Men’s Crew Team Overcomes Obstacles to Drop Times
April 13, 2011
Important Race On Tap for SCU Men’s Crew on Sunday
April 7, 2011
Santa Clara Rowers Take on UC Santa Barbara
April 6, 2011
Senior Pantoja Happy He Dedicated Himself to Crew
April 4, 2011
Santa Clara Crew and Rowing Compete at SD Crew Classic
March 30, 2011
SCU Bronco Crew Aims for Grand Finals in San Diego
March 16, 2011
Keeping in Stride with Jake Carrigan
March 8, 2011
Hard Work Paying Dividends for Santa Clara Crew
February 24, 2011
Santa Clara Crew and Rowing Programs Celebrating Black Velvet Saturday
February 15, 2011
Rowing with Chris Freeburg
February 14, 2011
Technique Will Be Key for Undersized SCU Men’s Crew in 2011
November 18, 2010
Broncos Impressive in Final Fall Race
November 2, 2010
SCU Gains Early-Season Experience at Head of the American
October 27, 2010
Veteran Crew Team Aiming to Repeat as Top Boat in WCC