SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's rowing opened its season on Nov. 10 with the Head of the Lagoon in Foster City, Calif. The Broncos competed in the Novice 8, Varsity 4, and Novice 4. The start of the races was delayed an hour and a half due to heavy fog.

"The first crews to launch were our varsity A&B fours and they were fired up to improve on their result from last year, and they did," said Santa Clara head coach John Wojtkiewicz.  "Throughout the course of their race they were able to pass Humboldt and caught up to University of Oregon to ultimately take fifth out of 10. The best part was being only 38 seconds behind St. Mary's "A" whereas the last two years we've been closer to 1:20 behind them. To know that the boat was entirely freshmen and sophomores was particularly encouraging. The B four didn't have as strong a piece but still managed to place eighth out of 10, ahead of Humboldt and St. Mary's "D"."

With three boats racing, Wojtkiewicz saw one that stood out.

"The Novice eight had the best performance of the day," explained Wojtkiewicz. "Although they placed fifth out of nine, they finished ahead of all three novice crews from St. Mary's! Although the St. Mary's "A" crew posted a faster time than Santa Clara, they were penalized 30 seconds for a course violation that could have given them an unfair advantage and subsequently faster time. This is the first time in the history of this regatta that Santa Clara has come out entirely ahead of St. Mary's."

The Novice four lost its steering fin at the start of the race. That setback did not allow them to be competitive. They were able to finish the race but that was all.