SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's rowing opened the 2017 season Sunday at the Port of Sacramento against UC Davis, Humboldt State, and Orange Coast College.
The crews raced in four events with the Broncos coming out on top with their 3rd Varsity boat. They finished with a time of 9:15, 49 seconds ahead of the next closest team.
"For our whole team, Sunday's racing was a great learning experience," Santa Clara head coach Matt Pinschmidt said. "For our 4 who are all novices, two of whom are coming off injuries, I thought they did great. They won their race against similarly experienced competition and I think took a big step forward as far as their confidence goes."
Despite not being able to win in the JV races, Pinschmidt was happy with what he saw from the crew.
"Our JV got to feel what close racing is like and although wasn't able to push past Humboldt, showed great composure all the way down the course," Pinschmidt said. "They didn't let the pressure get to them and rowed a time that was right about what I thought they were capable of for this point in the season."
The Varsity 8 struggled in its lone race of the day but the team is looking at it as an opportunity to learn.
"Our Varsity had a pretty bad day at the office, so to speak," Pinschmidt said. "They got off to maybe the worst start I've seen from them all year and never fully recovered. We are, however, going to use this as a growth opportunity and get right back to it for practice."
The final race of the day saw the Broncos put together a 4 that had never been together.
"Our 1V/JV4 had a decent row for never being in a boat together before the race," Pinschmidt said. "For the Varsity rowers, it was a good rebound after their race in the 8."
The Broncos are back on the water at the San Diego Crew Classic April 1-2.
"A huge thanks to Davis for hosting and great competition from both Humboldt and OCC," Pinschmidt said. "We are looking forward to the next three weeks and taking a few more steps forward before the San Diego Crew Classic."
RESULTS
Race 1
1. HSU JV8 (7:32.67)
2. SCU JV8 (7:34.56)
3. UCD 2N8 (9:02.51)
Race 2
1. HSU V8 (7:06)
2. UCD V8 (7:17)
3. SCU V8 (7:29)
4. OCC V8 (7:33)
Race 3
1. SCU 3V4 (9:15)
2. HSU 3V4 (10:04)
3. UCD 2N4 (10:30)
Race 4
1. HSU JV4 (8:03)
2. SCU 4 (8:10)
3. UCD JV4 (8:51)
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