GOLD RIVER, Calif. - UC San Diego women's crew turned in strong efforts Saturday during day one of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships. On Sunday, the Tritons will have three boats competing in finals - varsity eight, second varsity eight and second novice eight.
Senior Brianna Patterson demonstrated her versatility as a rower, racing in five different boats Saturday for the UCSD squad. Overall as a team, the Tritons flashed the promise of a bright future for women's crew.
"It's a building year for us," UCSD head coach Pattie Pinkerton said. "I'm extremely proud of how our team performed today against some tough competition."
The varsity eight boat will be featured Sunday as the top seed in the petite final, a race that will include the likes of the University of Colorado, Sonoma State, Pacific Lutheran, Chapman and Long Beach State.
The Tritons' varsity eight has Katrina Paz as its coxswain while the rowing is done by Denise Kleckner (8-seat), Jaime Bigwood (7), Summer Austin (6), Megan Simmons (5), Courtney Escajeda (4), Wanda Chin (3), Jesi Bennett (2) and Lynn Nguyen (1).
On Saturday the lightweight eight boat for the Tritons placed fourth with a strong finishing time of 8:22.30, topping fifth-place Washington State by nearly 14 seconds. Stanford won that race with a 7:04.80 mark.
The varsity four boat took fourth in the petite final Saturday, closing with a time of 8:55.60. Orange Coast College, Seattle University and Sonoma State finished first through third respectively in that race but those three along with UCSD overlapped for much of the course. The Tritons fell back in the final leg, failing to be included in the blanket finish.
The lightweight four boat secured first place in the petite final after leading the pack with a 9:16.80 mark. Portland State took second at 9:32.1, followed by UC Irvine and Pacific Lutheran.
In other action, the novice eight placed sixth in the petite final for an overall finish of 12th.
Also racing on Sunday will be the second varsity eight, as that boat goes up against Williamette and Humboldt State among others, and the second novice eight challenging opponents such as UC Davis, University of San Diego, OCC, HSU and UC Santa Barbara.
