March 10, 2005
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Just Briefly
The Loyola Marymount University crew team will take on UCLA in a head-to-head competition on Saturday, March 12 at Marina del Rey's Ballona Creek. The competition will feature seven races starting at 8:30 a.m. The teams faced each other a year ago, with the men competing for the Lundberg Memorial Cup and the women for the Karen Hock-Hjelm Cup. UCLA took both cups last season.
Where to Watch
The best place to catch the action on Saturday will be the LMU Boathouse. The state-of-the-art facility is home to LMU crew is right on the race course. LMU's Jane Browne-Bove Boathouse is located at 13669 Fiji Way, in Marina del Rey, CA. It is accessed by way of the Fisherman's Village parking lot. Getting There: 405 Fwy North or South to 90 Fwy, the Marina del Rey Fwy. Take 90 west to Mindinao. Left onto Mindinao to Admiralty. Left to Fiji. Right on Fiji. Fiji runs into the marina, bends along Fisherman's Village, then circles back onto itself. Accessing Boathouse:As Fiji just begins to bend left, look for the first driveway/entrance to Fisherman's Village. Turn right into this entrance. After going through the parking gate, turn to the right and look for parking. Boathouse is just down off the promenade walkway towards your right. Parking: Depending on the time of day, you may be charged for parking in Fisherman's Village. We can stamp all tickets to validate for 2 hours. Thereafter the charge is 75 cents/half hour. Free parking is available at DOCK 52 Public Lot. Dock 52 is located 1/8 mile from intersection of Admiralty and Fiji, on Fiji, on your right as you proceed into the marina. It is a few minutes walk up Fiji from Dock 52 to the LMU Boathouse.
Spring Opener
The Loyola Marymount University crew program competed at the 2005 Parker Cup Regatta on Saturday, March 5 in Mission Bay, CA. For the Lions', the men's Novice 8 team earned a first place finish while LMU earned second place finishes in the regatta featuring San Diego State, UC Irvine and LMU. "It was a great start to a long racing season for the men's team," said Head Coach Patrick Kelly. "It is good to get the butterflies out and be in a sprint race again. They rowed pretty well but didn't have the efficiency to stay with UCI over the last third of the race. As for the novice team, they rowed really well for their first 2k race ever." In the race, the men's novice was trailing at the half way point. "This win is a testament to their hard training, the work of their coach Pat Madigan, and the guys just keeping that heart of a Lion right through the entire race." UC Irvine won the Parker Cup on the men's side, while San Diego State won it on the women's side. As for the women's team, it was the first 2K race for many LMU athletes. "I was very pleased with the development of the true novice athletes, as evidenced by their close race with SDSU," said Kelly. "The girls were down, made a push back to within 2 seats but ran out of steam over the last 250 meters. Coach Conway has done a good job with them, and with the lightweights." Saturday was LMU's first Lightweight race in over 10 years. "It's good to a race under our belts. You want to win every time out of course, but we just didn't put together a full 2000 in any of the races. We need to keep up the boat speed more consistently to get those wins. Credit to the Aztecs. They were ready."
The WCCs
The Loyola Marymount University women's crew team finished in second place in the 2004 West Coast Conference Championships at Lake Natoma. The second place finish is the highest in program history as they finished with 25 points. The best day in crew history in the WCC also had its heartbreak as they finished second behind Gonzaga by just one point. The one-point margin is the closest in WCC Championship history, which began its current point format in 1999. Rounding out the WCC results was San Diego in third place with 18 points, Santa Clara in fourth with 11 points and Saint Mary's in fifth with eight points. Points are given in each of the three races held during the championships, with the highest point total earning the championship. The Lions won the Varsity 8 Championship for the first time in program history, dominating the five-boat race from start to finish. The team of Blake Boyer (coxswain), Caitlin McClain, Kathryn Holzberger, Vanessa Glendenning, Naomi Hoogesteger, Lot Keijzer, Beth Henderson, Erin Ludwig and Sarah Daum finished in a time of 6:49.50. The time, according to the WCC record book, is the second best Varsity 8 times in the history of the championships. The Lions defeated Gonzaga by more than 10 seconds. The Zags finished in second at 6:59.52, followed by San Diego (7:04.39), Santa Clara (7:15.37) and Saint Mary's (7:37.75). The win in the Varsity 8 gave the Lions 15 points. The Zags earned 12 for second.
A Classic in San Diego
LMU women's crew team won the Varsity 8 Cal Cup at the 2004 San Diego Crew Classic. The Cal Cup Championship is the first in program history. The Lions Varsity 8 team of Blake Boyer (coxswain), Sarah Daum, Erin Ludwig, Beth Henderson, Vanessa Glendenning, Naomi Hoogesteger, Lot Keijzer, Kathryn Holzberger and Caitlin McClain finished the Grand Final in a time of 7:12.70. LMU finished nearly four seconds faster than second place Miami and eight seconds better than third place UCLA. The Lions were one of the top three crews off the line at the start, crossing the 500-meter mark in third place, three seats down on UCLA and Miami. As the crews advanced to the 1000-meter line, LMU had moved half way through UCLA, who was bow to stern with third place Miami. In what was a battle between the top three crews all the way to the last 250, LMU began to pull away from the pack as Miami took over UCLA. Crossing the line first, the Lions gained a four second victory over second place finisher Miami. Winning the Women's Cal Cup means that next year's Varsity race will be invited to compete in the prestigious Jessup-Whittier Cup along with the nation's elite collegiate teams. Also claiming a first place finish on Sunday was the LMU Men's Varsity 8. The Lions took first in the Cal Cup Third Race in a time of 6:29.5. The Lions also edged out UCLA by over three seconds and Saint Mary's by just under four seconds. San Diego, UC San Diego and Arizona State rounded out the Cal Cup-Third finish.
All-Conference Honors
Thanks to impressive showings at the WCC Championship on April 30 and the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on May 1-2, the LMU women's crew team earned individual honors to go with one of the most successful seasons in program history. Juniors Caitlin McClain and Vanessa Glendenning were both named first-team WCC All-Conference and first-team WIRA All-Association after leading their teams to the Varsity 8 Championship in both events. Joining McClain and Glendenning on the All-WIRA first-team was senior Lot Keijzer. The pair of all-conference honors in the WCC is the most ever in one season. The Varsity 8 earned first place for the first time to help five-year Head Coach Patrick Kelly to his second WCC Coach of the Year honors. The three All-WIRA selections equals last year's number as the Lions' Varsity 8 won the Grand Final championship for the second straight year. The back-to-back WIRA Championships is the first in program history and earned Kelly back-to-back WIRA Coach of the Year honors. McClain, Glendenning and Keijzer have led the Lions to new levels of success.
More Honors
The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association placed more honors on the LMU crew team as Vanessa Glendenning earned second-team West All-Region honors. The CRCA also named Caitlin McClain, Naomi Hoogesteger, Erin Ludwig and Blake Boyer to the Academic West All-Region team. McClain took the honors a step further, earning First-Team CoSIDA District VIII Academic Honors. With the first-team honor, she was a finalist for the Academic All-America honors. Completing the honors in 2004 was Hoogesteger, McClain, and Ludwig with Academic All-WCC accolades.
Coach Kelly
The 2004-05 season is the sixth for Head Coach Patrick Kelly of the men's and women's crew programs. In his five seasons, the Lions have won more Varsity 8 championships in his tenure than any other combined. The accomplishments have earned Kelly two WCC and WIRA Coach of the Year honors. Kelly rowed varsity for the Lions for four seasons and served as team captain in 1987 and 1988.
- GO LIONS -
