April 27, 2004
SAN BRUNO, CALIF. - West Coast Conference women's rowing teams travel to Rancho Cordova, California, this Friday, April 30 for the conference championship at Lake Natoma. Gonzaga University, seven-time defending WCC champions, will scull for the title against fellow WCC schools Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, San Diego, and Santa Clara. This is the eighth consecutive year that the WCC women's rowing championship has been held at Lake Natoma.
The I Four race will take place at noon, followed by the II Eight race at 12:20pm and the I Eight at 12:40pm. A championship awards ceremony will begin at approximately 1:15pm.
The West Coast Conference added women's rowing to its list of championships in 1997, with five of the league's eight member schools, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's, San Diego, and Santa Clara, fielding teams.
Gonzaga has been the pace-setter in the short history of WCC women's rowing, claiming all seven conference championships. San Diego has finished as the runner-up to Gonzaga six times, while Santa Clara has finished second once. Last season the Broncos finished third in the league, behind Gonzaga and San Diego.
In 1997 and 1998, the WCC championship consisted of a single race contested by each school's I Eight-woman boat. Beginning in 1999, the event was expanded to include the schools' I-Four and II-Eight-woman boats as well, and a point-system was introduced to determine the top finisher through all three races.
The Bronco lineups for Friday's championships are:
I Eight
Coxswain: Carien Hughes
Stroke: Kristin Siem
7: Alison Fleck
6: Erin Hussey
5: Sheila Reid
4: Adaline Zacher
3: Amanda Kremer
2: Laura Hellenthal
Bow: Melissa Poplaski
II Eight
Coxswain: Cathleen Heinbockel
Stroke: Tracy Flecky
7: Molly Hagen
6: Erin Pate
5: Jennifer O'Neill
4: Carrie Clark
3: Piper Phillips
2: Katie Fahrer
Bow: Jeanne Marie Hood
Four
Coxswain: Carien Hughes
Stroke: Monica Carmean
3: Tegan Leipzig
2: Roxane Due
Bow: Gabriela Grijalva
