Nine Is Fine For Bulldog Women

April 29, 2005

LAKE NATOMA, Calif. - Nine For Five.

That was the slogan for the Gonzaga University women's rowing team as they sought a ninth straight West Coast Conference title in 2005.

Friday the dream was realized as the Bulldogs swept all three races to remain the only school to capture a WCC women's rowing title since its inception in 1997.

The I-Eight finished in 6:58.3 to beat the University of San Diego which crossed the line in 7:02.3, the Bulldogs winning their eighth I-Eight race in nine years. The II-Eight captured a 5-second win over Loyola Marymount University, the Bulldogs winning in 7:07.5 for their sixth straight victory while the Lions were timed in 7:12.3. The I-Four, second a year ago, took a 9-second victory over USD in 7:51.6 to the Toreros' 8:03.1.

The I-Eight was comprised of junior coxswain Erin Palmiter (Kalispell, Mont.), junior stroke Kari Durgan (Vancouver, Wash.), senior Karen O'Hagan (Tucson, Ariz.), freshman Cory Nelson (Reno, Nev.), sophomore Jessica Kocarnik (Portland, Ore.), freshman Stephanie Murphy (Puyallup, Wash.), freshman Courtney Haia (Waimanlo, Hawaii), junior Sarah Allison (Highland Ranch, Colo.) and sophomore bow Nicole Aadland-Lewis (Bothell, Wash.).

The II-Eight boat seated freshman coxswain Joan Aubry (Olympia, Wash.), junior stroke Jenni Cooper (Seattle, Wash.), senior Carolyn Schepper (Sammamish, Wash.), sophomore Teresa Archuleta (Altadena, Calif.), sophomore Heather Jewell (Oak Harbor, Wash.), freshman Grace Wallace (Jackson Hole, Wyo.), freshman Kelsey Koenig (Everett, Wash.), junior Mariah Smith-Miloff (Billings, Mont.) and freshman bow Kathryn Kocarnik (Portland, Ore.).

Rowing in the I-Four were sophomore coxswain Mimi Refuerzo (Vancouver, Wash.), sophomore stroke Liz Sambach (Scottsdale, Ariz.), junior Cherami Cadwell (Richland, Wash.), freshman Kelsey Raap (Cheyenne, Wyo.) and senior bow Brittany Price (Lake Oswego, Ore.).

The Bulldogs scored a perfect 30 points (15 points for the I-Eight race, 10 for the II-Eight and 5 for the I-Four). USD finished second with 22 points, followed by LMU 20 and Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College with 8 each. SMC did not race a JV8+ boat.

"The foundation for this title began a year ago," Gonzaga head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "We only won one of the three races last year. They worked really, really hard to be able to do what they did today. All the credit goes to them. It's getting more and more challenging to keep it going. It's not getting any easier. We're just lucky at Gonzaga that we have exceptional student-athletes."

Gonzaga edged LMU 26-25 for the title last year, the closest finish since the current scoring system was devised in 1999.

Putyrae said a slight headwind might have helped his team this year.

"I knew it would be about a boat length (coming into the races). I believed there would be three boats in contact. There was a decent headwind in second half of race that worked to our advantage because I think we have more power and they were able to use it in the headwinds. It might have been a different result if it were rowed under different conditions," Putyrae said.

The Bulldogs were rewarded for their championship by landing three members on the All-WCC team in O'Hagan, Durgan and Allison. San Diego also placed three members on the all-conference team in Jacquelin Harris, Christy Baker, and coxswain Alicia Cresap. Rounding out the all-conference team were Loyola Marymount's Vanessa Glendenning, SMC's Lindsay Juricich, and Santa Clara's Laura Hellenthal. San Diego's Joan O'Hara was named Coach of the Year in her first season as head coach of the Toreros.

Putyrae said his three selections were all deserving of the recognition.

"O'Hagan is the team captain has done a good job of creating a supportive atmosphere, which is a hard job in a sport that tends to break itself out into boats. She got everybody working together. She's the best she's been in her career," Putyrae said. "Durgan has done it with pain and takes a lot of responsibility for how the boat goes. She worked hard to put something together to keep everybody focused in a boat that included three freshmen and three novices. Alison was in the varsity four last year and really has taken her rowing to another level this year. She's always been a good athlete but this year re-dedicated herself to move up. She went from someone not in JV boat to someone who was very solid in the varsity boat. She put a ton of work in over the summer and has not looked back since the first practice."

The Bulldogs will return to the water Saturday and Sunday at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship also on Lake Natoma. Gonzaga will race a novice 4+ in addition to the three boats entered in the WCC championships. Racing begins both days at 8 a.m.

2005 West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Championship

Team Scores1. Gonzaga            30 points2. San Diego          22 points3. Loyola Marymount   20 points4. Santa Clara         8 points   Saint Mary's        8 points

I-Eight1. Gonzaga            6:58.3   15 points2. San Diego          7:02.3   12 points3. Loyola Marymount   7:03.3    9 points4. Saint Mary's       7:25.2    6 points5. Santa Clara        7:31.0    3 points

II-Eight1. Gonzaga            7:07.5   10 points2. Loyola Marymount   7:12.3    8 points3. San Diego          7:21.9    6 points4. Santa Clara        7:42.1    4 points

I-Four1. Gonzaga            7:51.6    5 points2. San Diego          8:03.1    4 points3. Loyola Marymount   8:21.1    3 points4. Saint Mary's       8:25.9    2 points5. Santa Clara        8:29.7    1 point

2005 All-West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Team


Karen O'Hagan, GonzagaKari Durgan, GonzagaSarah Allison, GonzagaJacquelin Harris, San DiegoChristy Baker, San DiegoVanessa Glendenning, Loyola MarymountLindsay Juricich, Saint Mary'sLaura Hellenthal, Santa ClaraCoxswain - Alicia Cresap, San Diego

Coach of the YearJoan O'Hara, San Diego

Upcoming Events

Results

Completed Event: Women's Crew versus WIRA Championships on May 1, 2011 , , 2nd; 6:33.4

Completed Event: Women's Crew versus WIRA Championships on April 30, 2011 , , 1stl 7:23.3

Completed Event: Women's Crew versus West Coast Conference Championship on April 29, 2011 , , 2nd; 6:58.5

Completed Event: Women's Crew at Western Washington Dual on April 16, 2011 , , 1st; 6:37.7

Completed Event: Women's Crew at Dale England Cup (Boston, Michigan State, Indiana) on April 2, 2011 , , 2nd; 6:51.3.

Completed Event: Women's Crew at Dale England Cup (Boston, Michigan State, Indiana) on April 1, 2011 , , 2nd; 6:50.6

Completed Event: Women's Crew versus Washington State Dual on March 26, 2011 , , 2nd (7:18.58)

Completed Event: Women's Crew versus Oregon State Dual on March 20, 2011 , , 2nd; 7:51.94

Related News

Related Videos

Footer