Novices Shine For Women's Rowing At Silver Lake
3/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. - Head coach Glenn Putyrae was pleased with the effort of the Gonzaga University women's rowing team Saturday morning as the Zags hosted Washington State University, on Silver Lake, for its only home races of the season.
"We were fortunate to have a great day for racing," Putyrae reflected. "The novices were really the highlight of the day. They looked great and raced strong. Their performance was a great indication of the direction the program is going in. They do not have many races this year, so it was great to see them do well in the few they had today."
The Zags began the morning by taking the Novice 8+ race. The boat consisting of Kasandra Ziebert, Clare Manthey, Emma Watanabe, Kamrin Sorenson, Micailah Donner, Nia Rivers, Carly Rix, Patricia Costanzo and Olivia Marsh timed in at 7:44.75, finishing nearly 20 seconds faster than WSU's 8:03.14 time.
GU also took the Second Novice 8+/Third Novice 8+ race with a 7:47.01 time. They finished ahead of the Cougars boats that timed in at 8:06.41 and 8:14.77, respectively.
The Varsity 8+ race dealt with the most challenging wind in the morning as they had a 5 mph headwind. Washington State took the race 6:55.49 to 7:05.64.
Washington State took the Varsity 4+ race with a time of 7:51.40 while GU clocked in at 8:17.71. Similar results in the Second Varsity 4+ as the Zags finished at 8:13.22 and the Cougars at 8:07.88.
"The Varsity results were not exactly what we were looking for, so there is some disappointment," Putyrae said. "I know we can be very competitive. We will keep working and be better prepared when we see Washington State in two weeks."
The breeze shifted to a 3 mph tailwind for the Second Varsity 8+/Third Varsity 8+ and as a result the times finished faster than the Varsity 8+ race. The Gonzaga boat came in at 7:03.65 while WSU's fastest boat clocked in at 6:51.28.
Despite some frustrations of the day, Putyrae remained positive on the racing rivalry that has developed between the two eastern Washington schools.
"They [Washington State] are consistently going to the NCAA's and it is a great relationship for us to face such stiff competition," Putyrae said. "When we race them, it is a great chance to see where we size up. We both push each other to perform well and it has become an ideal situation. We get great racing against a rival, but not an adversary."
Gonzaga will be back on the water Apr. 5 in San Diego for the San Diego Crew Classic.
Gonzaga - Washington State
Saturday March 22, 2014 - Silver Lake - Medical Lake, WA
Novice 8+ (9 a.m.)
GU: 7:44.75
WSU: 8:03.14
Varsity 8+ (9:15 a.m.) *5 MPH headwind*
GU: 7:04.64
WSU: 6:55.49
Varsity 4+ (9:30 a.m.)
GU: 8:17.71
WSU: 7:51.40
Second Varsity 4+ (9:45 a.m.)
GU: 8:13.22
WSU: 8:07.88
Second Varsity 8+/Third Varsity 8+ (10 a.m.) *2 MPH tailwind*
GU: 7:03.65
WSU: 6:51.28
WSU2: 7:52.84*
*boat came to complete stop to clear weeds of out the rudder
Second Novice 8+/Third Novice 8+ (10:15 a.m.)
GU: 7:47.01
WSU: 8:06.41
WSU2: 8:14.77
