Zags Complete First Day at NCAA Championships

Friday, May 31

Indianapolis, IN

Gonzaga University

NCAA

5/31/2019 5:09:00 PM | Women's Rowing

Bulldogs prep for semifinals Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS – The Gonzaga women's rowing team completed the first day of the NCAA Championships at the Indianapolis Rowing Center at Eagle Creek Park. The Bulldogs finished fifth in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight races, while the varsity four finished in sixth.

"I'm really proud of how they handled everything, especially with a few things getting in the mix and changing it up," head women's rowing coach Marisa Wortman said. "They were really able to rise to the occasion and not use those changes as a distraction…I was really proud of how they handled it, and I'm excited to race tomorrow."

The varsity eight posted its best time of the season, coming in at 6:31.404, less than half a second ahead of their previous season-best of 6:31.773. The Zags' great start, along with a solid final 500 meters, helped secure the fifth-place finish and a spot in the C/D Semifinal race Saturday. Texas claimed the win in the heat, with a time of 6:07.284.

"Off the start, we were with the pack and held it with Wisconsin for a while, but once we hit midway through the race, we kind of fell back on Wisconsin and [Virginia," senior rower Lauren English said. "That was a little bit of a disappointment, but we had set a high goal and we knew that if we didn't achieve that we'd be ok as long as we had our best race."

The Bulldogs' second varsity eight also finished in fifth place, defeating Rhode Island by nearly seven seconds after a strong final 250 meters. Gonzaga finished with a time of 6:50.304 to qualify for the C/D Semifinal on Saturday. California won the heat with a time of 6:24.858.

"We started our sprint a little earlier than we usually do, but our coxswain [Schuyler Peters] saw that we had bow-to-stern or a little bit of open water, and she decided at 400 meters to make that move," freshman rower Grace Cahalane said. "I think that really helped us."

GU's varsity four completed the day for the Zags, finishing in sixth place with a time of 7:43.125. The Bulldogs will race Saturday in the C/D Semifinals.

"We've made a lot of big strides [this season], and I think we're actually able to execute a lot more effectively what we've been trying to do all season," said junior coxswain Samone Sims. "It's really inspiring to see the culmination of all the work they've done and all the practice they've done [this season]."

All three GU boats will race in the C/D Semifinals Saturday morning. The heats for each boat are yet to be determined, but the varsity eight will race at either 5:12 a.m. PT or 5:24 a.m. PT, the second varsity eight will race at either 6 a.m. PT or 6:12 a.m. PT and the varsity four will race at either 6:48 a.m. PT or 7 a.m. PT. For updates, check Twitter at @ZagsRowing or Facebook.

RESULTS
Varsity Eight