Bulldogs Complete Day Two at NCAA Championships

Saturday, June 1

Indianapolis, IN

Gonzaga University

NCAA

Photo by: Justin Casterline

Bulldogs Complete Day Two at NCAA Championships

6/1/2019 11:40:00 AM | Women's Rowing

All three Gonzaga boats in D Finals Sunday

INDIANAPOLIS – The Gonzaga women's rowing team completed the second day of the NCAA Rowing Championships Saturday afternoon at the Indianapolis Rowing Center at Eagle Creek Park. The Zags finished fourth in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight boats while the varsity four fifth.

"We wanted to place higher, but all boats raced hard and challenged themselves from start to sprint," head women's rowing coach Marisa Wortman said. "We look forward to tomorrow's final day of racing."

The varsity eight started things off for the Zags, facing Harvard, Navy, Indiana and Marist in the second head of the C/D semifinals. The Bulldogs battled a strong crosswind for the entirety of the race, but in the end, Harvard surged ahead for the win finishing in 6:45.012. Gonzaga finished less than three seconds out of third at 6:54.132.

"We had a big crosswind today," sophomore rower Anise Potjes said. "We've been training for things like this, but we also know that sometimes in practice it does affect how we row. We were expecting more of a head, but it was kind of a cross, and as a starboard it's a little harder to get my blade in. But we did our best there."

In the second varsity eight, the Zags had a great start and kept pace with third-place Navy, trailing by just a second after the first 500 meters. Gonzaga fell off a big in the second 500 and finished five seconds back from Navy at 7:16.927. Rutgers won the heat with a time of 6:59.669.

"We started off really strong; I think it's the strongest start we've had in our boat which was exactly what we wanted to achieve," said senior rower Ana Delucchi. "We gave it our all and stuck with it, and I think we really accomplished our goals for the piece. In the end we didn't get the win over Navy, but I think we had a good race. We're really excited to just prove ourselves tomorrow in the D Final."

In the varsity four, Gonzaga finished fifth with a time of 8:21:531 and continued to battle the crosswind that challenged boats all morning. Wisconsin won the heat with a time of 7:45.587.

"We were really excited going into [today's race], and we were pushing for that third-place finish to get into the C Final," sophomore rower Gianna D'Aloia said. "It didn't happen, which is ok, but we are going to push for the first-place finish in the D Final tomorrow."

The Zags will complete the season Sunday morning on the final day of the NCAA Rowing Championships. Gonzaga's varsity four will open the racing in the D Final at 5:12 a.m. PT, followed by the second varsity eight D Final at 5:36 a.m. PT. The varsity eight will be the final race for the Bulldogs at 6 a.m. PT. For Sunday's races, click here for live video and click here for live results.

RESULTS
Varsity 8