CHULA VISTA, Calif -- The Gonzaga women's rowing team opened up their spring competition with a race against Minnesota and came away with two victories.
"It is always great to line-up and open the season in Chula Vista with Minnesota," head coach
Andrew Derrick said. "We have traded races every year and both program really benefit from the consistency of the event. They look really good this year and we have quite a bit of things to figure out in order to not leave speed on the table but our team is excited to grow and we will get there by May."
The 1V4 race was one of the boats to clinch a victory by finishing in 7:46.59 over Minnesota's time of 7:49.55.
In the 1V4 boat, the Zags did a very good job of finding a rhythm early and maintaining it. The Bulldogs were even at the start, but started taking seats after settling into base rate. There was a lull around the back half of the second 500 where the crew wasn't moving up on margins, but after resetting through the 1100, the Zags started extending the lead. The crew was very responsive and shifted splits down well during the final 300.Â
"The crew did a great job of grabbing a small lead early but then not sitting, rather continuing to push and take more seats," Derrick said.
The other victory came in the 3V4 race where the Zags finished in 8:00.23 over Minnesota's finish of 8:00.95. The crew had a come from behind victory in a tight race against Minnesota's third four entry.
Ava Beekman made her race debut in her hometown as she coxed the 3V4 boat to the photo finish.
"It was so exciting to get on the water in Chula Vista this season, to be back this close to my home town with such great competition and weather feels so promising to set the tone for the rest of the season," Beekman said.
The Varsity Eight finished second behind Minnesota in their race with a time of 6:39.52. The Gophers finished in 6:36.46. "It was a really consistent race, but want to work to find the next gear when it's time to go," Derrick added.
In the Second Varsity Eight race, the Zags took second out of the three boats fielded. GU finished in 7:01.73 as Minnesota finished in 6:55.91. UM's novice boat also competed in the race and completed it in 7:24.05.
The 2V4 also had a tight race against the Gophers and took second with a time of 7:57.94. Minnesota placed first with a finishing time of 7:54.63.
UP NEXT
The Zags continue their spring scheduled with a home race on March 29-30 against Saint Mary's at Silver Lake. Schedules can be found at GoZags.com at a later date.
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