Bulldogs Put In Long Day At NCAA Championships

Friday, May 25

Sarasota, Fla. (Nathan Benderson Park)

6:00 AM

Gonzaga University

NCAA Championships

5/25/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing

May 25, 2018

Championship Central

SARASOTA, Fla. The (RV) Gonzaga Bulldogs competed in the morning heats and afternoon repechages on Friday at the first day of the 2018 NCAA Championships at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

After the morning heats, all three boats waited around for a lightning delay before getting a chance to race in the repechages as the rain cleared. The water was flat and the light tailwind made for very fast conditions. The varsity four posted a great result in fourth, coming back to beat No. 15 Syracuse at 7:19.997 with their second-fastest time in program history at the event, only falling to ranked boats. The varsity eight came in fifth behind all ranked boats at 6:23.654 to mark the Zags' fastest repechage time in school history. The second varsity eight was fifth as well, behind all ranked teams, at 6:37.758 in the fastest time ever in the repechages and second-fastest time overall at the event.

In the morning heats, in hot and humid conditions but clear skies, all three boats took fifth racing against all nationally ranked opponents. The varsity eight turned in the best performance pushing No. 15 Syracuse throughout and finishing at 6:38.175, just four seconds behind the Orange. The second varsity eight finished at 6:56.296, their third-fastest time in NCAA Championship heat program history as they started strong through the first 500 meters, with No. 2 Cal eventually winning the heat. Finally, the varsity four came in at 7:43.60, just four seconds behind No. 13 USC.

"The varsity eight did a nice job of gaining an aggressive position heading into the last 500 meters of the reps," Gonzaga head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "They feel like they did a nice job of gaining some momentum and feel like they can do more tomorrow."

All three boats advanced to the C/D Semifinals tomorrow morning. Times will be announced according to how the weather progresses. Check http://www.regattatiming.com/results/ncaa/ for all the latest race times.

GONZAGA LINEUPS

Varsity 8
Alexa Jadallah
Lindey English
Caroline Maguire
Lauren English
Isabelle Belzil
Lauren McCallum
Zoe Calambokidis
Olivia Lada
Alexandra Pinkley