Gonzaga University
Lake Natoma Invitational
Women's Rowing Closes Lake Natoma with Solid Day
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gonzaga's 15th-ranked women's rowing took down a pair of top-20 teams on the final day of action at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Sacramento, Calif.
Gonzaga's top three boats held their own in Sunday's four-boat heats which featured all ranked teams. The Zags were up against No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 16 Iowa and No. 18 Notre Dame across the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 4.
"We were encouraged by the performance of all our crews this morning," head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "The conditions were fast and fair. We leave here feeling good about where we are, but also know there is still a lot of work left to do and we will head home to find more speed in all our crews. It was a wonderful week of racing, and we are grateful to Sacramento State and Cal for organizing and hosting such an awesome weekend."
In the Varsity 8, GU and Wisconsin were in a heated battle at the front with the Zags crossing the line a mere two seconds behind the Badgers with a time of 6:18.88 to finish second. The time was four seconds faster than the boat's best from one day prior and four seconds ahead of the third-place Irish in the race.
The Second Varsity 8 had the tightest race of the day for places 2-4. With Wisconsin out front by five seconds, GU held off Iowa by a quarter-second and came in just a second behind Notre Dame to finish third in a time of 6:32.47.
The Varsity 4 also came in third place in its race with a time of 7:22.86, less than three seconds behind second-place Iowa and nine seconds ahead of Notre Dame.
Next up for Gonzaga is its defense of the West Coast Conference championship crown at the WCC Championships back in Sacramento on May 14. GU has won the WCC two of the last three seasons and enters as the chosen favorite in the league's preseason coaches' poll.
Gonzaga Lineups:
Varsity 8 - Karly Dougherty, Kara Soucek, Ingrid Stansberry, Meghan McCallum, Devyn Bell, Lauren English, Brooklyn Beeler, Olivia Marsh, Lindey English
Second Varsity 8 - Hailey Rousseau, Micailah Donner, Lily Rorick, Madeleine Verspieren, Isabelle Belzil, Maddie Turbes, Hannah Schneiderman, Anna Johnson, Hannah Brown
Varsity 4 - Marie Hayman, Casey Harder, Cameron McDermott, Amelie Tristant, Shaylee Kieffer
