REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. – With severe wind and rain pushing at their backs, Santa Clara went head-to-head against West Coast Conference and Bay Area rival St. Mary's over the weekend.  The Gaels won both Varsity 8 races, which were the only entries for Santa Clara at the Pac-10 Women's Challenge at Redwood Shores.

"The result was unsurprising, given St. Mary's speed this year, but left us with a slightly bitter taste in our mouths as we were hoping for clearer signs of improvement," said SCU first-year head coach John Wojtkiewicz.

In spite of increasing winds, the varsity had a good warm-up and was feeling pretty energized.  The wind had been steadily picking up so that when both boats were in position, it was gusting 15-20 mph down the course.  The starter called, "Attention! Go!"  Santa Clara got a clean, strong start, and held with St. Mary's through the first 500 meters.

Saint Mary's had the advantage by weight and length, and in that monstrous headwind, that's all that mattered.  Gradually the Gaels started to pull away.  The Broncos held tough with their pacing, and after finding a groove at 36 strokes a minute, SCU worked to hold the margin.  At the 1,000-meter mark, St. Mary's pulled out to a four-length advantage and that is where they stayed for the remainder of race.  Santa Clara was able to piece together a solid sprint, and hold the margin to 23 seconds.

The Second Varsity race ran down in a similar fashion, although they were able to stay in contact with St. Mary's for a little bit longer, up until about 1000 meters.  Through the thousand, St. Mary's dropped the hammer and pulled away to another 20-second victory.

Final Results:
Varsity Eight
St. Mary's - 7:49.0
Santa Clara - 8:11.8
2nd Varsity Eight
St. Mary's - 8:25.3
Santa Clara - 8:45.3

1st Varsity Eight (SCU)
Cox: Judith Martinez '14
Stroke: Deanna Clark '12
7: Jill Walker (C) '11
6: Berkeley Fial '13
5: Katie Caudle '12
4: Laurel Schuster(C) '11
3: Rachel Donohoe '14
2: Adrienne Lohe '13
Bow: Blair Mitchell '14
 
2nd Varsity Eight (SCU)
Cox: Brittany Meyer '14
Stroke: Samantha Meredith '14
7: Melissa Giorgi '14
6: Cora Lemar '14
5: Estelle Richardson '14
4: Hilary Stewart '14
3: Vanessa Delgado '12
2: Melanie Lara '14
Bow: Kayla Edquilane '14

The one-month rowing season starts to kick into high gear in the coming weeks. The Broncos will race at the San Diego Crew Classic, this weekend, April 2-3.