April 17, 2010

Complete Results in PDF Format

Sacramento, Calif. - A full-day's racing saw LMU battle San Diego State and UC Davis on the first day of the NorCal/SoCal Challenge in Sacramento. The Lions sent three boats to the challenge races, pulling out second-place finishes in each race of the day.

Saturday's competition was split into morning and afternoon races, with the Lions getting cracks at the Aztecs in the AM and Aggies in the PM. The day started with the varsity 4 and LMU's boat rowing home in 8:15.93, behind SDSU's boat in 8:00.48

The second varsity 8 got its chance next, with the Aztecs pulling out a much closer finish. The Aztecs crossed the line in 7:06.27, just one second ahead of the Lions in 7:07.29.

The varsity 8 then took to the water and again it was SDSU crossing the line first. LMU timed home in 7:11.6, 11 seconds behind the Aztecs.

All three boats got a chance in the afternoon to improve their times against UC Davis. The varsity 4 improved its time by almost nine seconds, crossing the line in 8:06.71, but it was not enough to overcome two UCD vessels, who finished in 7:45.44 and 7:55.25, respectively.

LMU's second varsity 8 also dropped its time and again was the victim of a close race. The Lions gained 17 seconds on their morning performance, timing in at 6:50.8, just behind UCD's time of 6:48.63.

The biggest improvement of the day came from the varsity 8, who almost went half a minute faster. LMU placed second in 6:47.86 to UCD's 6:38.27.

The two 8 boats will get one more crack at improving their times on Sunday morning when they go head-to-head against West Coast Conference foes Saint Mary's. The Novice 4 will also take to the water for the first time, taking on UC Davis.