Crew looks to Pac-10 finals
By Jack Ferdon
It's a tradition in collegiate rowing for the losing teams in a race to give their school's tee shirts to the winning team. At their last meet, Santa Clara's men's varsity heavyweight and novice four-man boats came away with a whole new wardrobe.
At a meet held in Sacramento two Sundays ago, the varsity took first place in the second division. They rowed the 2,000-meter course in 6:14.7, just under two seconds faster than second-place finisher Long Beach State (not to be confused with the Long Beach Crew, made famous by Snoop Dogg).
The novice four laid an early morning whipping on their competition, coming in more than twelve seconds ahead of the next finisher, University of Puget Sound. Racing at 8:30 AM, the Broncos turned in a remarkable time of 6:48.6.
Among the other Santa Clara boats at the event, the women's varsity eight had the best showing. They took second place in their final with a time of 7:14.1, less than six seconds behind first-place Pacific Lutheran.
Other Bronco boats that competed on Sunday were the women's and men's junior varsity eight boats, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
On Friday, the crew teams rowed in the WCC Championships, which were also held in Sacramento. The big winners here were the women's junior varsity eight and the men's varsity eight, both of whom placed second in their races.
The women's time of 7:32.3 was enough to beat Loyola Marymount and San Diego, though it was far behind Gonzaga's 7:13.0.
Melissa Pellini, a freshman who rows starboard for the JV eight, was named to the All-WCC team for her efforts.
The varsity men came in at 6:18.2, just under four seconds behind conference champion Gonzaga.
The women's varsity eight finished in fourth place behind Loyola Marymount, San Diego, and Gonzaga, whose women's team took the championship as well.
"I think we put together some quality races last weekend," said junior Wiley Erickson, who rows starboard for the men's varsity eight. "As a program, we did well."
One Bronco boat that came home a little disappointed was the men's lightweight four, which finished fourth in its race with a time of 7:03.6. They had hoped for a better performance before they and the novice four raced in the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia this past weekend. They raced against such East Coast crew powerhouses as Harvard and Princeton.
The change of time zone did not help the lightweights, as they failed to reach the finals in their event.
"Racing in Philly was exciting and a good experience," said junior Kyle Simpson, who rows starboard in the lightweight four. "But it's more of a race to get our names out there."
The novice four, however, turned in a stellar performance, coming in eight seconds behind Temple University to snatch a second place finish.
The crew teams head back up to Sacramento next weekend. The men finish up the year in the Pac-10 Conference Championships, where they will compete against two of the best programs in the nation, Cal and University of Washington. The women will take part in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships as well as the Pac-10 meet.