Strong finish for Santa Clara crew
By Ryan Donough
The men's and women's crew teams concluded their seasons with high finishes in their respective championships this past weekend.
The women placed second overall in the WCC Championships, while the men placed eighth overall in the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships at Lake Natomas in Sacramento.
Women place second
The women's team got off to a hot start, finishing third in the varsity four (meaning four rowers) race with a time of 8 minutes 7.5 seconds, placing them 21 seconds behind eventual champion Gonzaga. The women then earned a second place finish in the varsity eight race with a time of 7 minutes 16.2 seconds, putting them in range of the Zags heading into the deciding race.
However, the Broncos weren't able to catch the Bulldogs and finished fourth with a time of 7 minutes 4.8 seconds in their final varsity eight race, dropping them into a three-way tie for second place with Loyola Marymount and St. Mary's.
The championships were scored by a point system based on a team's finish in their two varsity eight races and their one varsity four race. The Broncos finished with 17 points, trailing a Gonzaga squad that garnered top honors with 30 points.
Women's Coach Carlo Facchino remained positive, citing early season goals as one achievement.
"At the beginning of the year, we set different goals, and one of our goals was to place in the top two in the WCC's," Facchino said. "For us to come out and accomplish that goal was huge for the program."
The tournament capped off a successful season with their best finish since 1999. The women's crew team had finishes of second in two other events this season and placed third in the San Diego Crew Classic.
Two Bronco rowers, senior Katie Fahrer and junior Ashley Tomberlin, were also named to the All-WCC team chosen by fellow WCC coaches.
"It's overwhelming," Tomberlin said. "It's almost surreal. It's always an honor to be recognized but you really just think to yourself, 'I just came to practice and gave it all that I had each day.' "
The All-WCC honor is only awarded to 11 rowers in the entire conference. However, Fahrer and Tomberlin gave most of the credit to their fellow teammates.
"I don't know. It's a good feeling, but it is hard with a sport like crew because it is a team sport, and it is difficult to accept an award like this," Fahrer said. "You don't row by yourself; there are seven other people that have gotten you to where you are."
The women will be losing five seniors next year, including Fahrer, but the loss of leadership will be countered by the amount of depth on the team, said Facchino.
"We've got this really great group of freshmen who are coming up to varsity," Facchino said. "We are going to be losing five seniors, but I'm pretty excited about this strong group of freshmen."
Men place eighth
The men's team finished eighth in the varsity four race and No. 11 overall in the varsity eight race.
The men's team will be competing along with the women in just under two weeks in Philadelphia for the Dad Vail Classic, where they hope to improve on their Sacramento performances.
"We have been showing some improvement over the last couple of weeks," said Assistant Coach Matt Pinschmidt. "But we will be looking to pick up some speed before the competition in Philadelphia."
The men's team aims to improve next year, as they lose only four seniors and boast a strong returning novice class.
Contact Ryan Donough at (408) 551-1918 or rdonough@scu.edu