Complete ResultsÂ
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots women's rowing team capped a solid weekend at the 2014 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Championships by taking home a gold in the Grand Finals of the novice four and a bronze in the second eight finals on Lake Natoma. Portland's varsity eight and varsity four also had strong showings on Sunday with the West Coast Conference Championships looming. Portland's novice four easily topped the rest of the field with a time of 7:57.30, which was 18 seconds clear of runner-up Long Beach State. Portland's time was also about one second faster than on Saturday when the Pilots posted the fastest time in all three novice four heats.
UP's second eight took the bronze with a time of 6:57.63 in the Grand Finals, which was less than one second behind second-place and conference foe Saint Mary's. The Pilots were well clear of fourth-place San Diego State.
Portland's varsity four began the day with a fourth-place showing, claiming a time of 8:02.51, which was better than fifth-place Loyola Marymount and just behind bronze medalist Saint Mary's.
The varsity eight just missed out on a bronze medal, finishing fourth and again right behind the Gaels. Portland's time of 7:01.70 was only two seconds back of Saint Mary's and the Pilots finished ahead of LMU.
"The team was under a lot of pressure at this regatta with finals week on the horizon and the level of competition, and honestly we didn't offer much release from that pressure," Portland head coach Pasha Spencer said. "Our expectations are high for our student-athletes. The varsity eight were disappointed with their results, but not their effort. They closed the gap on SMC by five seconds since we last saw them at the San Diego Crew Classic. We train year-round to be able to take "one" second off, so I am excited to see what we can do at the WCC Championships in three weeks."
The Pilots are looking to improve on last year's WCC Championships when they finished in a three-way tie for third. The WCC's are scheduled for May 17 on Lake Natoma, the sight of this weekend's WIRA Championships.
2014 WIRA Championships ResultsVarsity Four1. Sacramento State, 7:38.60
2. San Diego State, 7:53.10
3. Saint Mary's, 7:57.96
4. Portland, 8:02.515. LMU, 8:11.03
Novice Four1. Portland, 7:57.302. Long Beach State, 8:15.10
3. San Diego State, 8:23.16
4. Saint Mary's, 8:30.76
5. UC Irvine, 8:40.99
6. Cal Lights, 8:45.42
Second Eight1. Sacramento State, 6:53.10
2. Saint Mary's, 6:56.79
3. Portland, 6:57.634. San Diego State, 7:04.19
5. Stanford Lights, 7:05.17
6. LMU, 7:14.29
Varsity Eight1. Stanford, 6:53.00
2. Sacramento State, 6:57.27
3. Saint Mary's, 6:59.50
4. Portland, 7:01.705. Seattle, 7:02.14
6. LMU, 7:08.07
Women's Team ScoresSacramento, 360
UC San Diego, 309
Portland, 285Saint Mary's, 284
San Diego State, 273
Humboldt State, 264
UCSB, 247
LMU, 245
Stanford, 210
Western Washington, 180
Puget Sound, 172
Lewis & Clark, 169
UC Davis, 163
UC Irvine, 162
Seattle, 159
Long Beach State, 140
OCC, 138
Gonzaga, 80
Seattle Pacific, 78
MILLS, 74
Oregon, 62
Washington State, 52
Arizona State, 40
SON, 24
Cali Light, 20
Pacific, 4
Portland LineupsVarsity Four: Taylor Nelson (coxswain), Casey Daley, Kelly Herman, Lucy Kelly, Alexandria Miller
Novice Four: Andrea Bogan (coxswain), Olivia Halverson, Maddie Goodwin, Kathryn Heitkemper, Kylie Olson
Second Eight: Kelsey Kincaid (coxswain), Jessica Osborn, Claire Seibold, Suzanne Blair, Kayla Russell, Laruen Wilson, Camden Revell, Tara Molina, Lucy Grimm
Varsity Eight: Hannah Dahlem (coxswain), Maggie Keller, Jamie Opra, Karen Christiansen, Bridget Sloat, molly Templin, Melissa Gomez, Hannah Johnson, Mia Tarte
