Varsity crews faced defending National Champions Western Washington at the NCRC's, in a field that included #4 ranked Dowling College (NY) and Rollins College from Florida, as well as regional D-II competitors, Humboldt State and Seattle Pacific.  After a two hour regatta delay due to fog, the Triton crew of coxswain Leslie Nanninga, stroke Jill Peacock, 7-seat Lauren Menzies, Jaime Bigwood (6), Denise Kleckner (5), Alissa Kispersky (4), Summer Austin (3), Kelly Hansen (2) and Caryn Urbanczyk (bow) came off the line with Western and Dowling, and held with the field through the first 500 meters, but couldn't find a rhythm and struggled to hold onto the field through the body of the race, fading to 6th behind victor Western Washington, with Dowling University, Seattle Pacific, Rollins, and Humboldt filling out the rest of the places.

“We are just having trouble finding our rhythm out there,” said Head Coach Pattie Pinkerton. “It's frustrating for the women; they have been training hard and well. It's one of the strongest squads I've coached here, and it will be our challenge over the next few weeks to see if we can turn all that hard work into boat speed.”

The Varsity Four lifted spirits when they came in third in the D-II Four, pulling out for an early lead over Rollins, and battling with Western Washington and Humboldt for the body of the 2000 meter race.  The sprint separated the field, with Humboldt taking line honors, Western Washington 2nd and UCSD third.  Coxswain Amy Fan did an outstanding job of directing the crew of Jesi Bennett, Wanda Chin, Laurel Copenbarger and Susanne Chang.

“Usually, our eight clicks first, then our Four comes together,” said Pinkerton, “but magic happens, and this crew headed Western for the first 1400 meters; something we haven't been able to do for a few years.  No one has beaten Western since we beat them five years ago, and Humboldt did it today, and our crew came close, with a brand new line-up.”

The Lightweight Four also had a great day, coming in second behind Willamette, and beating out Evergreen State in the sprint.

“The race felt solid, and it was wonderful to be able to have that competition right there, all the way through the race,” said stroke Kavya Rao.  ?We took the rating up, and Willamette and Evergreen responded; we lifted again and took Evergreen on the line. It's inspiring, and we're all geared up for the next time we see Willamette at the conference championships.”

Alyssa Miyake coxed the lightweight crew of Rao, Kelly Temes, Katie Tanaka and Lynn Nguyen.

Triton novice women's crews raced against top collegiate crews over the weekend as well at the San Diego Crew Classic, racing through the qualifying heats, but did not make the 6-boat final in the 23 boat field.  UC San Diego alumni will carry the flag in the Crew Classic women's finals, with two alumni Eights making the Sunday races.

The Tritons will next be in action on Sunday, April 19th at Mission Bay for the San Diego City Championships, with an 8 a.m. scheduled start-time.