May 2, 2008
LAKE NATOMA, Calif. - Santa Clara University women's crew placed fifth at the WCC Championships today with eight total points in the three races. The Broncos took fifth in the I-Four and I-Eight races and fourth in the II-Eight race. Gonzaga, the favorite coming into the weekend, claimed its 11th conference title, winning all three races.
Santa Clara started off the morning with the I-Four race and came in fifth, 13 seconds behind Saint Mary's. In the next race, Santa Clara's II-Eight team had the best finish of the day, coming in fourth and garnering four points. The Broncos came in ahead of Saint Mary's by over six seconds and were 12 behind LMU. In the final race of the day, Santa Clara clocked in at 7:01.3, less than a second behind LMU for fourth place.
Senior Laila Correa took home All-WCC Rowing Team honors for the Broncos.
Santa Clara will take part in the WIRA's Saturday and Sunday. The Bronco women are seeded third in the Varsity Lightweight Eight. This will be the second time the Lightweight Varsity Eight will get a chance to race. The Broncos previously raced on March 30th at the Pac-10 Challenge against the Princeton JV Lightweight Eight. Based on their performance the Broncos were ranked 15th in the nation by the US Rowing Coaches Poll. Santa Clara has since fallen out of the national ranking as they haven't had the opportunity to race again.
The WIRA Championships will feature two nationally ranked Lightweight Eight crews as No. 9 Loyola Marymount University and No. 11 University of California will be in lanes one and two respectively with Santa Clara in lane three, U.C. San Diego in lane four, Pacific Lutheran in lane five and Willamette in lane six.
Racing in the Lightweight Eight will be coxswain Brigid Kelleher, Laila Correa, Katrina Ostertag, Kelly Lee, Heather Lynch, Mehana Ho'opi'i, Stephanie Turnbull, Kathryn Jarosz and Jennifer Bullion.
The WIRA Championships will be Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4 at Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, CA. In addition to the Lightweight Eight, the Bronco women will be racing in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and Varsity Lightweight Four.
I-Four
1. Gonzaga, 7:40.0, 5 points
2. San Diego, 7:56.0, 4 points
3. Loyola Marymount, 8:06.5, 3 points
4. Saint Mary's, 8:27.9, 2 points
5. Santa Clara, 8:40.9, 1 point
II-Eight
1. Gonzaga, 6:56.7, 10 points
2. San Diego, 7:07.4, 8 points
3. Loyola Marymount, 7:08.7, 6 points
4. Santa Clara, 7:20.6, 4 points
5. Saint Mary's. 7:26.8, 2 points
I-Eight
1. Gonzaga, 6:44.0, 15 points
2. San Diego, 6:49.1, 12 points
3. Saint Mary's, 6:54.7, 9 points
4. Loyola Marymount, 7:00.7, 6 points
5. Santa Clara, 7:01.3, 3 points
Final Standings
1. Gonzaga - 29
2. San Diego - 23
3. LMU - 14
4. Saint Mary's - 13
5. Santa Clara - 8
