Nov. 3, 2009

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Three LMU boats took on the top collegiate rowers on the west coast this past weekend as the Lions traveled to compete at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival in Newport Beach, Calif. on Sunday. The Lions' top finish was the women's varsity 8, which came in sixth. The men's varsity 8 and men's varsity 4 boats were also in action in the final races of the fall season.

Coming off an eighth-place finish against many of the same schools last weekend at the Head of the American race, the varsity 8 improved on that position on Sunday by finishing sixth out of 16 vessels. The Lions went a minute faster than last week, lowering their time by over 90 seconds, from 18:49 to 17:11.788. UCLA's "A" boat won the event, followed by San Diego's "A" and the Stanford Lightweights. San Diego State was fourth, with UCLA's "B" boat fifth. LMU out-paced several "A" squads, including those from West Coast Conference opponents Saint Mary's, as well as Long Beach State and Pacific.

The men's varsity 4 and varsity 8 also lowered their times from last week. The varsity 4 finished 12th out of 19 boats in 17:47.682, almost three minutes faster than last week's time of 20:21. The varsity 8, meanwhile, took nearly a minute off of its time, rowing home in 15:27.099 to finish 13th out of 30 boats. Both races were won by representatives from Cal.

LMU will now return to its training before picking up the spring schedule in March. The Lions open up 2010 on March 6 against UCLA on Ballona Creek.