PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women's rowing team travels to Lake Natoma near Sacramento, Calif., this weekend to compete at the 2015 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, which are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday. This is Portland's second trip to the WIRA Championships after experience some success at last year's regatta.
 
"I thought we performed well last year and I think we've had a good training and recovery period since the Husky Open (April 4)," Portland head coach Pasha Spencer said. "Practice has been productive, we've trained hard and we've had really great rhythm and power. All in all, it's going to be a good weekend of racing and we're hoping to test our entire team to see how we will match up against our WCC rivals."
 
The two-day regatta begins with heats on Saturday and the top finishers will advance to Sunday's Grand Finals. Portland's novice four, which captured gold at last year's event, starts the weekend for the Pilots with an 8:40 a.m. heat on Saturday. Competing against the Pilots will be crews from Occidental, Willamette, Arizona State, Humboldt State and UC Irvine.
 
Next up is the novice eight crew, which is set to race at 11:20 a.m. They'll face a field that includes UC San Diego, Long Beach State, Stanford and Pacific.
 
Portland's second eight will race at 1:40 p.m. and will compete against Stanford, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Santa Clara and two boats from Sacramento State. UP's second eight won the bronze medal on Lake Natoma last spring.
 
The varsity eight's heat at 2:40 p.m. will feel like the West Coast Conference Championships as all four boats are from the league. Racing for a spot in the grand finals will be Portland, LMU, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.
 
Sunday brings the varsity four's finals, which will begin at 9:40 a.m. and will include the Pilots, Santa Clara, San Diego State, Saint Mary's and Sacramento State.
 
The WIRA Championships are the second to last regatta of the season for the Pilots, who will conclude the 2015 season at the WCC Championships, which will also take place on Lake Natoma in mid May.
 
2015 WIRA Schedule
Saturday – Day 1
8:40 AM – Novice Four: Occidental, Portland, Willamette, Arizona State, Humboldt State, UC Irvine
 
11:20 AM – Novice Eight: Occidental, UC San Diego, Long Beach State, Stanford, Portland, Pacific
 
1:40 PM – Second Eight: Sacramento State 'A', Stanford, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Portland, Santa Clara, Sacramento State 'B'
 
2:40 PM – Varsity Eight: LMU, Saint Mary's, Portland, Santa Clara
 
Sunday – Day 2
9:40 AM – Varsity Four: Portland, Santa Clara, San Diego State, Saint Mary's, Sacramento State
 
 
Portland Line-ups
Varsity Eight: Kelsey Kincaid (coxswain), Hannah Johnson, Cara Pakszies, Katie Griffin, Molly Templin, Kelly Herman, Maggie Keller, Melanie Martinell, Tara Molina.
 
Second Eight: Andrea Bogan (coxswain), Casey Daley, Claire Seibold, Olivia Halverson, Bridget Sloat, Katie Heitkemper, Jessie Osborn, Lindsey Atterbury, Kylie Olson.
 
Novice Eight: Grace Mannen (coxswain), Sydne Jacoby, Jordan Bonnell, Lauren Reid, Celina Perez, Lily Kristjanson, Jess Mann, Enya O'Kane, Alyssa Soete.
 
Varsity Four: Kristen Garcia (coxswain), Elizabeth Ankeney, Nathaly Munoz-Licea, Emily Kline, Catie Pennie.
 
Novice Four: Alice Chang (coxswain), Jessica Huerta, Courtney Schmidt, Kimberly Mueller, Maddy Bettinger-Lobash