Gonzaga University
San Diego Crew Classic (Varsity)
Freak Incident Sends Men's Varsity Crew To Petite Final
4/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew
April 3, 2004
SAN DIEGO - A freak incident on the race course will prevent the Gonzaga University men's varsity crew from defending its Cal Cup Championship as the men finished third in their Saturday morning heat at the San Diego Crew Classic at Mission Bay. The Gonzaga women will compete in Sunday's 3rd Level Final after finishing in fifth place during their heat on Saturday morning.
The men's varsity crew was neck-and-neck in their heat race with UC San Diego with just over 50 meters remaining in the race when the boat hit a buoy on the race course forcing the boat to come to a complete stop for two strokes. Once the Bulldogs regained their position on the course they were able to cross the finish line in third place which will place them in Sunday's Petite Final, but will prevent the Bulldogs from defending their 2003 Cal Cup Title.
The Bulldogs boat consists of coxswain Mara Oblak, stroke Mark Voorhees, Pat Haffey, Max Malotky, Nathan Wilson, Matthew Wernette, Derek Clemmensen, Connor Barry and bow David Hinshaw. Gonzaga will face Texas, Rollins College, USC, Washington State, and Santa Clara in the Petite Level Final. Minnesota won the Bulldogs Saturday heat while Orange Coast College finished first in heat 2 and UC Irvine finished first in heat 3.
On the women's side, Gonzaga competed in the toughest of the three heats on Saturday morning all five boats pulled out to solid starts all standing within two seconds of each other at the 1,000 meter point of the race. The other four boats in Gonzaga's heat would slowly pull away with rival Loyola Marymount winning the heat at 6:52.05. The Naval Academy was second followed by Saint Joseph's, Kansas State, Gonzaga, Colgate and UC Irvine. The Bulldogs finished the course in 7:04.08 which would have placed fourth in both heats one and three.
Miami (Florida) and UCLA won the other two Saturday heats. Gonzaga will be seeded No. 1 in Sunday's 3rd Level Final with boats from Colgate, San Diego State, Santa Clara, Temple and Saint Mary's. The Gonzaga varsity boat consisted of coxswain Courtney Serpa, stroke Kari Durgan, Carolyn Schepper, Maria Bokulich, Jessica Kocarnik, Kristi Aamodt, Karen O'Hagan, Jenni Cooper and bow Mariah Smith-Miloff. The Zags will mix up their boat on Sunday with Bokulich and Durgan switching places, Bokulich returning to the stroke position.
2004 SAN DIEGO CREW CLASSICMission Bay - San Diego, CAApril 3, 2004 (2,000 meters)
Men's Cal CupHeat Race 11. Minnesota - 6:16.702. UC San Diego - 6:23.023. GONZAGA - 6:23.194. Santa Clara - 6:29.445. Loyola Marymount - 6:31.446. Saint Mary's - 6:38.05
Heat Race 21. Orange Coast College
Heat Race 31. UC Irvine
Women's Cal CupHeat Race 11. Miami (FL)
Heat Race 21. Loyola Marymount - 6:52.052. Navy - 6:56.283. Saint Joseph's - 7:00.674. Kansas State - 7:01.665. GONZAGA - 7:04.086. Colgate - 7:08.427. UC Irvine - 7:21.16
Heat Race 31. UCLA
