Women's Rowing Readies for WCC Championship
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The Gonzaga Women's Rowing team will compete for a berth to the NCAAs on Saturday at the West Coast Conference Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
The Zags will hit the Lake Natoma course in the V4+ boat at 9:00 a.m., followed by the 2V8+ at 9:20 a.m. and the V8+ at 9:40 a.m. The Novice 4+ Gonzaga crew will also compete in the PCRC Regatta at 10:25 a.m.
The winner of the three-boat competition will earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. Gonzaga will look to get back to the top of the podium after earning the league title two years ago, but falling to San Diego last season.
"We spent the year focusing on helping our team make sure they go as fast as possible with as much confidence as possible on this one day," head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "If they are able to do that, we'll be in the mix. We need to maximize what we are capable of doing that day, there is no margin for error. This may be our one shot (at earning a spot at NCAAs)."
The Varsity 8+ is coming off of WCC Crew of the Month honors for April, while the Second Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ have had a solid month in lead up to the league championships. Scoring for the seven-team conference regatta starts at 21 points for the winner of the Varsity 8+ (decreasing in increments of 3 for each succeeding place), 14 points for the winner of the Second Varsity 8+ (decreasing by twos) and seven points for the winner of the Varsity 4+ (decreasing by ones). The V8+ finish would serve as the tiebreaker if needed.
Gonzaga is familiar with the lake, having competed in the Lake Natoma Invitational earlier this season. At that regatta, the Zags posted solid finishes over the course of two days, which included a V8+ win over San Diego on the second day.
Gonzaga Lineups
Varsity 8+ - Karly Dougherty, Kara Soucek, Ingrid Stansberry, Isabelle Belzil, Devyn Bell, Brooklyn Beeler, Maddie Turbes, Casey Burt, Olivia Marsh
Second Varsity 8+ - Heather Handy, Naomi Medley, Clare Manthey, Anna Johnson, Meghan McCallum, Cheryl Murbach, Madeleine Verspieren, Lily Rorick, Hannah Brown
Varsity 4+ - Laura Brasch, Ashley Patterson, Natalie Potts, Amelie Tristant, Shaylee Kieffer
Novice 4+ - Alyssa Saad, Hannah Schneiderman, Megan Kramer, Madison Spina, Brittney Murray
