Zags Do It Again; Win Four Golds At WIRA Championships
4/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - For the second year in a row and for the third time in five years the Gonzaga University women's rowing team won four gold medals at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, held again on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Along with sweeping the Varsity 8+, Second Varsity 8+, Novice 8+ and Varsity 4+ races, the Bulldogs also won the Team Points Trophy and tied with Western Washington for the Efficiency Award.
"It was a good regatta for us this weekend," said GU head coach Glenn Putyrae who was named WIRA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. "It is always fun to win and we obviously will enjoy this today, but tomorrow we get back to work on the next step in our journey."
The next path in the Zags journey is the West Coast Conference Championships, set for May 18 at Lake Natoma.
"The reason we come to the WIRA's is to get quality competition on the course where the WCC's are held," explained Putyrae. "The more experience we have here, the better prepared we will be for the conference championships in three weeks."
Experience and quality competition is exactly what the Bulldogs got Sunday, especially in the marquee Varsity 8+ race that saw GU win by a mere .2 seconds.
Gonzaga was down as much as six seats to Stanford University lightweights in the first 1,000-meters and made a move on the Cardinal at the half way point to pull even. The next 1,000-meters were a back and forth battle where each boat made a move, countered by the other, all the way to the finish line. Fortunately it was the Bulldogs who had the finally push to squeak out the .2 second victory with a finish of 6:47.7. The Cardinal crossed the finish line at 6:47.9.
"The Varsity 8+ race was a solid hard fought race with Stanford," said Putyrae. "Hats off to Stanford; they were aggressive, great competitors and a fast and feisty bunch."
Rounding out the top three of the most exciting race of the morning was WCC foe Saint Mary's College at 6:58.6.
The Varsity 4+ started off the morning winning its ‘final only' race with the only sub 8-minute finish at 7:36.4. San Diego State University placed second at 8:11.0, followed by Loyola Marymount University at 8:11.6.
The Second Varsity 8+ followed with Gonzaga's second-largest margin of victory. The Bulldogs earned a 15-second win over Sacramento State University at 6:51.2. It too was the only sub-7 minute finish as Sacramento State ended the course at 7:06.2. San Diego State claimed third in 7:10.5.
Closing out the gold medals for the Bulldogs was the Novice 8+. They earned first in their heat race Saturday and once again claimed the top spot with in the Grand Final. The Zags crossed the finish line in 7:00.4. Seven seconds later San Diego State finished with a time of 7:07.2. Orange Coast College won bronze in 7:09.9.
Four student-athletes were named to the All-WIRA squad. Madison Keaty and Malori McGill each garnered a spot on the first team, while Renee Wyman and Jordan Schroeder made second team.
2013 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Results - April, 28, 2013
Lake Natoma - Lake Natoma, Calif.
Varsity 8+ Grand Final
1. Gonzaga, 6:47.7
2. Stanford Ltwt., 6:47.9
3. Saint Mary's, 6:58.6
4. Loyola Marymount, 6:58.8
5. Sacramento State, 7:03.6
6. Seattle, 7:25.4
Second Varsity 8+ Grand Final
1. Gonzaga, 6:51.2
2. Sacramento State, 7:06.2
3. San Diego State, 7:10.5
4. Loyola Marymount, 7:12.1
5. Saint Mary's, 7:19.4
6. Santa Clara, 7:57.5
Varsity 4+ Grand Final
1. Gonzaga, 7:36.4
2. San Diego State, 8:11.0
3. Loyola Marymount, 8:11.6
4. Saint Mary's, 8:17.1
Novice 8+ Grand Final
1. Gonzaga, 7:00.4
2. San Diego State, 7:07.2
3. Orange Coast, 7:09.9
4. San Diego, 7:12.3
5. UC Santa Barbara, 7:13.5
6. Sacramento State, 7:16.7
All-WIRA First Team: Madison Keaty, Malori McGill.
All-WIRA Second Team: Renee Wyman, Jordan Schroeder
WIRA Coach of the Year: Glenn Putyrae
