April 28, 2011

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WCC Championships Central
Upcoming Race Information

LOS ANGELES - A season's worth of hard work and strain culminated this Friday at the 15th annual West Coast Conference Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. LMU, the 2006 champions, will be looking to improve upon third place finishes in each of the last three championships.

The 2011 WCC Championships is sure to be an exciting contest with several schools in the running for the title. LMU, who took home the title in 2006, has finished in the top-three in every season since 2003. The Lions will be relying on a strong returning core that features seven of the eight rowers, plus the coxswain, back from last year's varsity eight.

Defending champions San Diego is coming off its first-ever WCC title in 2011, beating 12-time champion Gonzaga by two overall points thanks to a 0.2 second victory in the varsity eight race in what was the closest race in WCC history. Gonzaga is a perennial favorite, having won 12 of the 15 championships.

Saint Mary's and Santa Clara will also be competing, as will Creighton University, who is making its WCC debut as an affiliate member.

The racing begins Friday at 9:20 a.m. with the varsity 4 race. The 2nd varsity 8 boats will launch at 9:40 a.m. and the day culminates with the varsity 8 pushing off at 10 a.m.

Fans can follow all the action live on WCCSports.com or on the conference's Twitter site (@wccsports).