LAKE NATOMA, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots battled through a head wind to finish fourth at the 2019 West Coast Conference Championships, which took place on Saturday morning at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center on Lake Natoma. It's the fourth straight fourth-place finish at the WCC's for the Pilots
 
The varsity four, second eight, and varsity eight each placed fourth in their respective events, giving the Pilots 24 points on the day. Saint Mary's was seven points back of the Pilots, and Loyola Marymount finished third with 34 points.
 
The Gonzaga Bulldogs won their fifth straight WCC Championship, while San Diego was in second.
 
Portland senior Veronica Nicacio earned All-WCC recognition for the third straight year, and she was joined on the all-conference team by senior Lauren Jesse.
 
"I'm very proud of the team and the culture this year," said Portland head coach Pasha Spencer. "It was a solid finish, but the podium is the goal."

The varsity four, which featured Allison Palazzotto as the coxswain and Lauren Formigli at stroke, started the scoring for the Pilots when they registered a time of 07:57.904. The Pilots just missed a second straight podium finish at the WCC's as they were only four seconds back of third-place Gonzaga. LMU won the event with a time of 07:36.350.
 
Next up was Portland's second eight, and they improved their finish for the third consecutive year. With Emma Papenhausen in the coxswain seat and Acacia Welsford rowing stroke, the Pilots claimed a time of 07:08.398. Gonzaga posted the fastest time, LMU was in second, and San Diego took the final podium spot in third.
 
Portland's second eight finished sixth in 2017 and was fifth in 2018.
 
In the final event of the WCC Championships, Portland's varsity eight also place fourth with a time of 06:48.317. The Pilots had seniors Miranda Reyes at coxswain and Jesse as the stroke, and the boat improved on their time from the 2018 WCC's by 12 seconds. The Bulldogs finished on top of the field in the varsity eight race to collect their fifth straight trophy.
 
Portland also raced a second four Saturday morning, with the Pilots finishing third among the six boats competing. Sage Iona was coxswain and Katie Bayford was the stroke as the Pilots recorded a time of 08:06.541. Only LMU and San Diego were faster.
 
FINAL 2019 WCC CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Gonzaga, 40 points
2. San Diego, 34 points
3. LMU, 34 points
4. Portland, 24 points
5. Saint Mary's, 17 points
6. Creighton, 13 points
7. Santa Clara, 5 points
 
Varsity Eight Results
1. Gonzaga, 06:31.773
2. San Diego, 06:35.750
3. Loyola Marymount, 06:40.727
4. Portland, 06:48.317
5. Saint Mary's, 06:58.513
6. Creighton, 07:00.223
7. Santa Clara, 07:00.487
 
Second Eight Results
1. Gonzaga, 06:48.365
2. Loyola Marymount, 06:49.331
3. San Diego, 06:52.081
4. Portland, 07:08.398
5. Saint Mary's, 07:16.793
6. Creighton, 07:21.620
7. Santa Clara, 07:30.588
 
Varsity Four Results
1. Loyola Marymount, 07:36.350
2. San Diego, 07:43.924
3. Gonzaga, 07:53.122
4. Portland, 07:57.904
5. Creighton, 08:22.512
6. Saint Mary's, 08:25.710
- Santa Clara, Scratch
 
Second Four Results
1. Loyola Marymount, 07:49.894
2. San Diego, 07:56.879
3. Portland, 08:06.541
4. Gonzaga, 08:08.567
5. Saint Mary's, 08:17.736
6. Creighton, 08:29.534
 
2019 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S ROWING MAJOR AWARDS
Newcomer of the Year: Grace Calahane, Gonzaga
Coxswain of the Year: Alexa Jadallah, Gonzaga
Rower of the Year: Lauren English, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Marisa Wortman, Gonzaga
 
2019 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S ROWING TEAM 
CREIGHTON: McKinley Wilson, Mary Stanley
GONZAGA: Lauren English, Lindey English, Zoe Calambokidis, Lauren McCallum
LMU: Ellery Martin, Lauren Compeau
PORTLAND: Veronica Nicacio, Lauren Jesse
SAINT MARY'S: Emily Springings, Kelsey Shinn
SAN DIEGO: Kadee Sylla, Clare Adams, Kira McPohlin
SANTA CLARA: Leila Chihab, Mollie Mertes
 
Portland Line-ups
Varsity Eight: Miranda Reyes (coxswain), Lauren Jesse, Catherine Watson, Desi Petrova, Veronica Nicacio, Avery Romano, Brooklin Gomez, Tess Pritchett, Jacquelyn Bass
 
Second Eight: Emma Papenhausen (coxswain), Acacia Welsford, Karen Gonzalez-Yanez, Brianne Zbylicki, Megan Medalia, Lilly Landers, Megan Del Pozzi, Meredith Marcinko, Audrey Shellum-Gonzalez,
 
Varsity Four: Allison Palazzotto (coxswain), Lauren Formigli, Maddie Olson, Lauren Yee, Amanda Hernandez Michalski
 
Second Four: Sage Iona (coxswain), Katie Bayford, Joselene Piedra Rodriguez, Katelyn Barney, Reeca Bardon