Women's Rowing Embarks On New Season
9/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
SPOKANE, Wash. â€" The Gonzaga women's rowing team heads into its season-opening regatta this weekend with a wealth of returning experience and incoming talent.
Coming off an NCAA berth and program-record national ranking, head coach Glenn Putyrae's squad is poised to continue its ascent on a national level. The NCAA berth was the team's second in the last three seasons, while GU capped the year ranked 17th.
"We are excited about the combination of experience we have returning in our senior class and the talent and depth of the rest of the team," Putyrae said. "We have all the ingredients to be a really good team and continue to develop our speed at the top and depth across the board. This is one of the deepest, strongest and fastest teams we have had. We're looking forward to the season with a focus on consistent improvement throughout the year with the goal of being in the NCAAs again."
Returning for Gonzaga is its core of WCC award winners and all-conference performers. The league's Rower of the Year Kara Soucek, Coxswain of the Year Karly Dougherty and Newcomer of the Year Isabelle Belzil all return for WCC Coach of the Year Glenn Putyrae's team. In addition, All-WCC performers Brooklyn Beeler, Maddie Turbes and Devyn Bell round out the depth of returning experience.
The women's crew will kick off the fall slate with the annual Head of the Pend Oreille in Priest River, Idaho, on Sept. 26 at 10 a.m., followed by a matchup with Washington State on the Spokane River two weeks later. The WSU race will take place on Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. as the first of back-to-back home weekends for the team.
On Oct. 17, the Zags will host their Alumni Weekend at 10 a.m. on the Spokane River out of the Gonzaga Boathouse near Felts Field in Spokane.
GU will then head to the Portland Fall Classic on Nov. 1, followed by the final race of the fall at the Head of the Lake in Seattle, Wash., on Nov. 8.
After a winter break and training ahead of the spring season, the Zags will return to the water on Feb. 20 in a scrimmage at the University of Portland.
Three weeks later, GU will head south for Spring Break to compete in Sacramento, Calif., on March 12. That race and a week of prep will lead up to a matchup with Oregon State on Dexter Lake near Eugene, Ore., on March 19. Another Pac-12 squad in Washington State awaits the following week on March 25 at Silver Lake, Wash.
Gonzaga will then head to San Diego, Calif., for the San Diego Crew Classic on April 2-3 before gearing up for the stretch run with one of the most competitive race weekends in the nation at the Lake Natoma Invitational on April 15-16 in Sacramento, Calif.
The WCC and PCRC Championships will wrap the regular season on May 14 with a coveted berth to the NCAA Championships on the line, which take place on May 27-29 in Sacramento, Calif.
