March 31, 2010

Complete San Diego Crew Classic Results

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The women's varsity and novice boats led the way for LMU last weekend, advancing to the Petite Finals in their respective categories at the 37th annual San Diego Crew Classic, contested Saturday and Sunday at Mission Bay. The novice gained a third-place finish in the Petite Final, with the varsity placing fifth. On the men's side, the varsity rowed to a fourth-place finish in the Petite Final.

"It was an all-around great weekend," Head Coach Dawn Regan said. "The racing was tight and it was the first experience for the women to really race programs of similar speeds. It was also the first time since 2005 that Loyola Marymount brought a V8, JV8, and Novice 8, which shows that we are slowly building depth and from depth we will become more competitive."

Improvements were seen from top-to-bottom as every LMU boat that raced twice improved its time from the first race to the second. Saturday saw all five LMU boats in action, starting with the men's varsity's first heat for the American Specialty Health Cup. LMU put in a strong effort, placing third behind Trinity (CT) and Notre Dame. LMU's time of 6:23.50 beat out local rivals USC and UCLA in the heat, sending the Lions to Sunday's Petite Final.

The women's varsity was next up in the first heat for the SeaWorld Cup. Facing off against Sacramento State, Kansas State, British Columbia, Tulsa, and Sonoma, the Lions rowed in at 7:17.00, just eight-tenths of a second behind Kansas State and good enough for fourth place. Like the men, the women would be heading to the Petite Final the next morning.

Saturday morning's heats continued with the men's novice going off at 9:40 a.m. Racing in the second of three heats for the Derek Guelker Memorial Cup, LMU crossed the line sixth in 7:08.67. "Though the Novice Men did not advance to Sunday's finals, they raced well and continue to improve heading into the end of the season," Men's Coach Scott Charette said.

The morning finished with the women's JV and novice rowers getting their chances. Facing Radcliffe, Washington State, Tulsa, and San Diego State, the JV finished fifth in their heat for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy, crossing the line in 7:41.71. The novice followed by taking fourth in their heat for the Laurel V. Korholz Perpetual Trophy, behind USC, Minnesota, and Saint Mary's. Their time of 8:06.87 was faster than future WIRA opponents Pacific and UC Santa Barbara.

Both the women's JV and novice had more work to do on Saturday afternoon as they completed their weekend racing schedule. The JV 3rd Final saw LMU knock more than 20 seconds off its time from earlier in the day (7;20.97), placing second in a field that included Oklahoma and Kansas State. The novice Petite Final featured more local foes, with LMU finishing third in 7:36.07. LMU trailed only San Diego and UC Santa Barbara while outpacing San Diego State, Kansas State, and Orange Coast College.

The varsities returned to the water on Sunday for their Petite Finals. First up was the women, who placed fifth in the field in 7:06.65, improving on their time by 12 seconds over the day before. The result also bolstered LMU's spirits for next month's West Coast Conference Championships as the Lions beat the other WCC school in the race, Saint Mary's. Minutes later, the men took their turn, with LMU gaining five seconds on the Saturday heat to place fourth in 6:18.37. For the men, it was the second time in as many days that they had beaten USC, avenging a head-to-head loss to the Trojans earlier in the season.

"With only one senior in the women's varsity eight boat, each race was a learning experience," Regan said. "In the first varsity race, they came off the water thinking that was as much as they could push. After the Petite Final Sunday morning they came off the water with faster splits and and now knowing they can always go faster."