Santa Clara, Calif. - The Bronco women's rowing team traveled to Eugene, Oregon last weekend to take part in the Covered Bridge Regatta. Santa Clara traveled both the varsity and junior varsity teams. Santa Clara is taking the experience from these races and using it as they move forward as they race on April 20 against Saint Mary's and UCSD and against Mills on April 21. 

"We knew that the top three finishers would be fast, and had a plan to race them for the first thousand," said Bronco head coach John Wojtkiewicz. "We are very strong, so I knew that if we could put down a strong first thousand, we had the foundation of a good 2K.  I was actually proud of their effort for the first thousand.  Now we need to work on carrying it all the way down the course."

The starting conditions were not what SCU was used to, and Wojtkiewicz was fully aware of this. "They were overwhelmed by the conditions and finished trailing the other crews," said Wojtkiewicz. "This crew has also struggled with rate, being unable to hit the higher rates without losing their ratio and couldn't get much above 32SPM for the bulk of the race.  This week we're going to do more work with ratio and quick hands to help them get the rate up higher."

The Varsity eight raced first in lane eight against seven other crews. While the cross-headwind made it difficult to get all eight boats in alignment they were able to eventually get a clean start. Santa Clara had a strong first 250 and was able to stay with the pack for the first thousand but couldn't hold and faded back to seventh through the third 500 to maintain that position to the finish line.

"This weekend was a great indicator of where we stand as competitors for the season," said senior Kristen Hutchison. "After spring training in Sacramento, I believe the team has become much stronger psychologically and physically as well; both are necessary during this racing season."

Some other mitigating factors included a power imbalance in the boat; the starboards are pulling around the ports pretty hard, so the coxswain was on the rudder through the whole race to maintain her line.  

"This week we are going to try a new bucket rig that will hopefully distribute the power more evenly through the boat," said Wojtkiewicz. "Also the two seat, Giorgi was rowing with a strained intercostal that needs to be wrapped so tight its hard for her to breath.  We're hoping some PT will help her manage it as we try to get through the season."

Initially, the Varsity Four was postponed due to conditions, but eventually the crew was able to compete and managed to battle the conditions.

Crew Lineups:

Varsity Eight
C: Ana Burgos-Solis
'15: Stacey Urauchi
S: Adrienne Lohe
7: Kristen Hutchison
6: Ronnie Herr
5: Margret Mendenhall
4: Daphne Cottrell
3: Katie Bond
2: Missy Giorgi
B: Molly Walker

JV Eight
C: Brenda Arellano
7: Mary Smith
6: Katherine Kilmer
5: Blair Mitchell
4: Micheleen Oberst
3: Samantha Nitz
2: Michelle Castro
1: Bianca Garcia

Varisty Four
C: Brenda Arellano
4: Bianca Garcia
3: Michelle Castro
2: Laura Thompson
B: Ariel Ross

JV Race Results:

UofPortland "A" - 7:31.4
Western Washington - 7:42.72
Humboldt State - 7:45.34
Portland State - 7:56.36
ASU - 8:02.31
Uof Portland "B" - 8:03.65
University of Oregon - 8:07.47
SCU - 8:20.15

Varisty Eight Results

Portland - 7:09.45
Western Washington - 7:10.14
Humboldt State - 7:18.5
Seattle University - 7:24.57
Lewis&Clark - 7:33.22
SPU - 7:48.79
SCU - 7:51.3
Willamette - 7:54.9

Varisty Four Results

Western Washington 9:26.9
Humboldt State 9:28.41
Portland 9:31.68
Lewis&Clark 10:04.42
SCU 11:46.9