May 8, 2002

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University's men's and women's varsity crews will compete at the 2002 Avaya Collegiate Championships this weekend at Lake Mercer in Princeton, New Jersey. The Avaya Championships consist of NCAA Division I, II and III schools that do not offer scholarships in crew. Last year Gonzaga's women finished third at the Avaya Championships held at Lake Lanier outside of Atlanta.

Gonzaga's men will compete in the second varsity eight heat after finished third last weekend at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships in California. Also entered in Gonzaga's heat will be varsity crews from New Hampshire, Colgate, Marist, Ohio State and Massachusetts. The opening men's varsity heat consists of Wesleyan, Williams, Hobart, Georgetown, Holy Cross and Rochester. The third varsity heat includes UC San Diego, Ithaca, Orange Coast College, Michigan, Virginia and Bates.

Gonzaga's women will compete in the final women's varsity eight heat after winning the WIRA Championships last weekend in California. Gonzaga's heat includes Wellesley, Worcester Polytechnic, Ithaca, Binghamton and New Hampshire. The opening women's varsity heat consists of Trinity, UC Irvine, Colby, Williams, Dayton and Ohio State. The second women's varsity heat includes Marist, Wesleyan, William-Smith, Holy Cross, Smith and Orange Coast College.

Racing will consist of three opening heats on Saturday afternoon with men's semi-final races taking place on Saturday evening. Third, Petite and Grand Finals for all classifications of racing will be contested on Sunday.

Gonzaga's men's varsity eight boat will consist of coxswain Mara Oblak, Mark Voorhees, Mike Baisch, Brad Hughes, Jeff Kiely, Dave Johnson, Justin Toenes, Nat Hopper, and Nathan Wilson.

Gonzaga's women's varsity eight boat will consist of coxswain Courtney Haase, Nicole Lustig, Molly Gulsvig, Cynthia Savoca, Breah Neimiec, Jennie Gilpin, Maria Bokulich, Bridget Troy and Christine McKeown.