SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Seattle University women’s rowing advanced both boats in competition to the Grand Finals of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) championship on Lake Natoma. For the Redhawks, this weekend marked the third straight year, in as many opportunities, in which the varsity eight advanced to the Grand Finals and second straight year for the novice eight.
"We had our toughest competition this weekend," said head coach Jenny Park. "Making it to the grand finals in both varsity and novice races is a great accomplishment for the team. The team raced hard today in grands, there were no regrets, and I am happy with the results."
The varsity eight advanced in their Saturday heat with a third place finish ahead of San Diego State while the novice eight also advanced, finishing second in their respective heat, ahead of Cal, UCSB, and Saint Mary’s.
In Sunday’s Grand Finals, the Seattle U varsity 8+ crossed the finish line with a time of 7:14.3, good for fifth place, while the novice 8+ finished with a time of 7:32.1 (fourth place) ahead of Sacramento State and San Diego State.
The Redhawks close their 2015 spring racing season in the Emerald City on Saturday, May 2 at the Opening Day Regatta on the Montlake Cut. The event precedes the Windermere Cup, later the same day, one of the most prestigious racing events in the world, and features a boat parade as the day marks the opening day of boating season in Seattle.
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY LINEUPS
VARSITY EIGHT
cox – Brooke McCulloch, stroke – Kailyn Zimmer, 7 – Rachel Wong, 6 – Jennifer Cruz, 5 – Meghan Ricci, 4 – Mariana Osuna, 3 – Olivia Smith, 2 – Kelsey Hopkins, bow – Shelby Johnson
NOVICE EIGHT
cox – Emily Nielson, stroke – Catherine Abajian, 7 – Lucy Fu, 6 – Sydney Bonino, 5 – Katherine Ollenbrook, 4 – Molly Hammond, 3 – Larisa Brown, 2 – Abigail Wells, bow – Rebecca Ravitz
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY RESULTS (Heats – Saturday)
VARSITY EIGHT
1 – Stanford Lightweights – 7:05.1, 2 – Sacramento State – 7:10.9, 3 – Seattle U – 7:10.9, 4 – San Diego State – 7:22.7
NOVICE EIGHT
1 – Sacramento State – 7:17.8, 2 – Seattle U – 7:24.5, 3 – Cal – 7:31.4, 4 – UC Santa Barbara – 7:41.5, 5 – Saint Mary’s – 7:51.5
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY RESULTS (Grand Finals – Sunday)
VARSITY EIGHT
1 – Stanford Lightweights – 7:00.4, 2 – Loyola Marymount – 7:03.1, 3 – Saint Mary’s – 7:04.8, 4 – Sacramento State – 7:06.2, 5 – Seattle U – 7:14.3, 6 – Portland – 7:16.8
NOVICE EIGHT
1 – Stanford Lightweights – 7:03.3, 2 – San Diego – 7:04.5, 3 – Orange Coast College – 7:24.1, 4 – Seattle U – 7:32.1, 5 – Sacramento State – 7:32.4, 6 – San Diego State – 7:34.6