Women's Rowing Competes at San Diego Crew Classic

Posted: Mar 31, 2015

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Over the weekend Santa Clara women's rowing raced at the San Diego Crew Classic. The Broncos took part in five events and raced the Varsity eight, Varsity four, and JV eight.

"The Varsity eight had a rough heat, with a bad start that actually put them in the wrong lane for the first 150 meters," said Santa Clara head coach John Wojtkiewicz. "They were able to correct and make up several lengths of open water on UCSD in the last 500 meters. I was proud of how they kept their composure throughout and was able to reel that crew back in and finish ahead by a little over a second. Although we only advanced to the third final, I thought it was a good first effort for that young crew."

After the initial race, the Broncos moved to the finals. Again they battled tough conditions but showed what they are capable of.

"The final had much tougher conditions but again I was impressed at how well we handled them," continued Wojtkiewicz. "The first 500 meters we looked like a crew in control. This time we were able to leave UCSD behind with a good start and reel in Purdue from a two-length deficit at the 1000 meter mark to finish a solid length or three seconds ahead. In addition we were only five seconds behind St. Joseph's, which is a well-seasoned crew."

The young crew impressed Wojtkiewicz with their performance and has him excited about the future of the boat.

"Overall I was pleased with the Varsity performance," said Wojtkiewicz. "This is a crew with four freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors. I'm excited to see how we can build on this experience and what we can achieve this spring and especially looking ahead to next spring."

The JV eight and Varsity four had a more difficult time on the water but Wojtkiewicz saw some positives to take away.

"The junior varsity eight was a novice crew that we had to race as a junior varsity to satisfy regatta rules," said Wojtkiewicz. "While they were no match for the more seasoned crews in the JV event, their times were on par with most of the crews racing in the novice eight event. The four was similar in that they struggled against national-level competition, but amongst conference schools they posted a competitive time."

Varsity Eight
C: Hollynd Boyden '17
S: Brittany Peters '17
7: Susan Irving '18
6: Katie Bond '16
5: Kelby Nardoni'17
4: Emily Stewart '18
3: Valerie Bright '18
2: Molly Walker '16
B: Emelia Hamilton '16