Men's Rowing Heads To WIRA Championships This Weekend
4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Crew
April 29, 2010
Full WIRA Schedule in PDF Format 
SPOKANE, Wash. -
ON TAP: The Gonzaga University men's rowing team heads to Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., to compete in this weekend's Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships. The Zags, who are entered in four races: Varsity 8+, Junior Varsity 8+, Novice 8+ and Novice 4+, earned a gold medal in the Varsity 8+ and Junior Varsity 8+ and a silver medal in the Novice 8+ a season ago.
LAST YEAR AT THE WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS: It was a perfect ending to a successful 2009 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships for the men's rowing squad as the Varsity 8+ and Junior Varsity 8+ both won gold and the Novice 8+ captured silver. With the wins, the Varsity 8+ and Junior Varsity 8+ earned automatic berths to the 2009 IRA National Championships. The Zag Varsity 8+ boat put together a gutsy performance to edge out UC San Diego for the marquee win. The Bulldogs were leading the race until UCSD overcame them at the 1,200-meter mark. GU never faltered though, keeping their composure and rowing through the Tritons for a one second victory. Gonzaga's Junior Varsity 8+ easily captured its victory, winning its race by nearly five seconds.
HEAD COACH DAN GEHN'S THOUGHTS ON THE UPCOMING WEEKEND: "My gut feeling is it will be tight racing. UC San Diego, Washington State and UC Davis have all shown speed throughout the spring. In the Junior Varsity race, WSU looks like the clear front runner."
WHAT IS AT STAKE: The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships are even more important this season as there are qualifying spots on the line for the IRA National Championships. If the Varsity 8+ finishes in the top two on Sunday it automatically earns a spot at the National Championships June 3-5. Also, if the Varsity 8+ does finish in the top three, and the Junior Varsity 8+ and Freshman 8+ win gold at the WIRA's, they also would earn an automatic berth in the IRA's.
WESTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ROWING ASSOCIATION SCHEDULE: The Gonzaga University men's rowing team will race four boats at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships.
• The Zag Novice 4+ will start the racing off on Saturday at 8:40 a.m. in the third of three heats. The Bulldogs, in lane one, are joined by Willamette University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of the Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Orange Coast College.
• The Junior Varsity 8+ is the second boat to race on Saturday beginning its race at 9:50 a.m. GU will race in the second of two heats and will face UC San Diego, Santa Clara University and the University of Colorado.
• The marquee Varsity 8+ heat racing is set to begin mid-morning on Saturday. The Zags are in the second of the three heat races, hitting the water at 10:50 a.m. Gonzaga will race in lane one and face Orange Coast, the University of San Diego, UC Irvine, Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Seattle.
• The final boat, the Novice 8+, has its heat race at 11:40 a.m. The Zags, in lane two, will race UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Washington State University, Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State University.
GONZAGA LINEUPS:
Varsity 8+: Sean Finerty, Andrew Krug, Connor Murphy, Neil Coppinger, Matt White, Benji Schwarz, Connor Wege, Kenny Mentele, Nick Willard.
Junior Varsity 8+: Crystal Huff, Jeremy Lazzara, Frankie Russo, David Wayne, Julian Stephanski, Will Griffith, Tyler Mendiola, Mike Gore, Evan Winiger.
Novice 8+: Tayler Mattheisen, Sahan Fernando, Bennett Schultz, Frankie Green, Garrett Benson, Dan Rinker, Dane Pavlik, Aaron Gonzales, Erik Strand.
Novice 4+: Jessica Sutterman, Stuart McDonald, Andrew Batinovich, Zach Gray, Enrique Alvarado.
