Men's Rowing

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Bronco Men’s Crew Place Third Among WCC Boats at WIRA’s

Posted: May 02, 2011

2011 WIRA's Complete Results

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – The Santa Clara University men's crew team placed third among all West Coast Conference boats at the 2011 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Championships.

In a series of extremely competitive races, where the difference between the first-place boat and the 11^th-place boat was within 10 seconds, the Broncos Varsity 8 posted their fastest time of the year and ended up 11th out of 18 boats overall and fifth in the Petite Final.

Saturday featured five boats racing in qualifying heats at Lake Natoma. The weather offered strong crosswinds, which gave the advantage to heavier crews.

The Broncos got fourth in their Varsity 8 heat, contending for second place with 500 meters to go against Sacramento State and UC Davis. UC San Diego – the eventual Varsity 8 winners – took that first heat, with UC Davis coming in second and Sac State third. Santa Clara placed third among all West Coast Conference boats, beating out Loyola Marymount, St. Mary's.

"We lost five guys from our team last year, and I have to admit these guys this year came a long way," said Santa Clara head coach Wieslaw Kujda. "We were just a few seconds behind, making up ground in the last month. We were right there, competing for medals."

Also on Saturday, the Novice 4 raced in a pair of heats, featuring four boats each. The Novice 4 did well, placing seventh overall in Sunday's Grand Final. Santa Clara's pair also qualified for the Grand Finals.

The Broncos Novice 8 qualified for the Petite Finals, which was a very close race, with five boats all finishing within one second of each other.

"We have such a big group of freshmen, and it was good to see them being so competitive. That is an exciting prospect for us and for the future," said Kujda. "Being so close with our Varsity 8 boat this year, I think these younger guys will close that gap next year."

With the future looking bright, the Broncos have realistic aspirations of winning another WCC trophy in 2012. Santa Clara was the fastest boat among all WCC schools a year ago.