SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Gonzaga men's rowing team opened competition at the WIRA Championships on Saturday with a strong and consistent showing across multiple boats, highlighted by a win in the Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ and another top-two performance to advance crews into Sunday's finals.
"Great morning of racing, especially the V8 and V4," head coach Dan Gehn said. "Tomorrow should be a barn burner. "
The Bulldogs' Varsity 8+ set the tone early in the day, winning Heat 2 with a time of 5:55.827. Gonzaga led from the start and held off UCLA and UC Santa Barbara to secure a spot in the Grand Final.
Gonzaga's Varsity 4+ added another heat win for the Zags, taking first place in their race with a time of 7:05.445. The Bulldogs finished ahead of UC Santa Barbara and USC, continuing their strong start and locking in a spot in the Grand Final.
In the Second Varsity 8+, Gonzaga's A boat delivered another strong result, placing second in its heat with a time of 6:08.73. The Zags finished just behind San Diego while comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, earning a place in the Grand Final. Gonzaga's B boat competed in an earlier heat, finishing fifth with a time of 6:29.674.
Across the opening day, Gonzaga consistently placed near the top of the leaderboard in each event, setting up multiple boats for strong opportunities in Sunday's finals racing.
Gonzaga returns to Lake Natoma on Sunday for the final day of the WIRA Championships with finals racing on tap.
Sunday Schedule
Varsity 8+ — 8:20 am
2V8+ B — 9:00 am
2V8+ A — 9:10 am
Varsity 4+ — 10:20 am
Lineups
Varsity 8+
Cox – Elliott Olcott
8 – Eli Bunn
7 – Max Ransom
6 – Toby Finn
5 – Brendan Kelly
4 – Luke Krentel
3 – Hunter Scott
2 – Hiro Akin
1 – Cooper Loney
2V8+ A
Cox – Bradley Williams
8 – Jack Surface
7 – Trent Blair
6 – Haydon Evenson
5 – Nicholas Vlasceanu
4 – Kyle Peter
3 – Nathaniel Horsman
2 – Charlie Serafin
1 – Ben Michalske
2V8+ B
Cox – Bennett Hay
8 – Andrew Kralj
7 – Patrick McComas
6 – Joshua O'Connor
5 – Flynn Davis
4 – Andrew Phipps
3 – Marco Alfieri
2 – Josh Huss
1 – Shea Taylor
1V4+
Cox – Mia Hyke
4 – Preston Kuan
3 – Levi Yoos
2 – Patrick Weyrauch
Bow – Adam Overbay
