BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The UC San Diego women's crew team traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on Western Washington in a dual meet on Lake Samish Friday morning.

WWU came away with wins in both the varsity eight and varsity four races.

"While we came up short in both races, we did have a very solid day of racing away from Mission Bay," said first-year UCSD head coach Colin Truex. "Both the eight and the four raced tough and refused to back down."

UCSD's varsity eight boat came across with a time of 7:11.80 on the 2,000-meter course. The Tritons were two boat-lengths behind the Vikings, who won by clocking a 7:02.55. Comprising UCSD's crew were coxswain Anna Meng, Kelly Peterson, Alyssa Dixon-Word, Kelsey Henck, Katherine Tehaney, Caitlyn Belza, Michelle Robbins, Ashley Travaglione and Claire Duesdieker.

"We put up a good fight against a very strong crew, but were a little overmatched in the middle of the race," said Truex. "We rowed well and we rowed hard and showed that we're a contender."

The varsity four was won with a time of 7:53.90. UCSD recorded a 7:59.50 for second place, finishing ahead of WWU's "B" boat, which came in at 8:01.20. The Tritons sent out coxswain Catherine Sheffler along with Shruti Kamath, Mary Elizabeth Bilder, Olivia Knizek and Rachel Schneiderman.

The Vikings, who won seven consecutive national titles between 2005 and 2011, were competing in their first meet of the season.

Both UCSD and WWU will be back in action on Saturday, March 30, at the Cascade Sprints on American Lake near Tacoma, Wash.

UC San Diego vs. Western Washington
March 29, 2013
Lake Samish
Bellingham, Wash.

Varsity 8
1. WWU 7:02.55
2. UCSD 7:11.80

Varsity 4
1. WWU-A 7:53.90
2. UCSD 7:59.50
3. WWU-B 8:01.20

-- UCSDtritons.com --