Three of the four women’s crew boats that competed in the Pacific Coast Division II Championships in Lake Natoma, Calif., last weekend brought home medals, but UCSD still did not qualify for NCAA Rowing Championships.
Nevertheless, coach Pattie Pinkerton was far from disappointed with her team, which was “”a lot faster this weekend”” than during its frustrating performance at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on May 4 and May 5.
According to Pinkerton, the improvement is difficult to notice because of poor weather, which got progressively worse during the day.
“”The conditions were pretty awful, so the times are not as relevant as we would like,”” she said.
Weather aside, the two varsity eight boats each brought home a bronze medal.
The first varsity eight crew placed third with a time of 8:03 behind Western Washington University at 7:25 and University of California Davis at 7:35.
The boat was piloted by coxswain Claire Doyle, Emily Gray, Sara Patton, novice Sarah Tyler, Jennifer Wolsborn, Stefanie Barriere, novice Natalie Seitz, Emily Brennan and Anastasia Bolaris.
The second varsity eight boat’s third-place finish was only slightly slower than its counterpart with a final time of 8:06.
UC Davis, which finished first, finished at 7:30 and Western Washington followed with 7:39. UCSD’s crew consisted of coxswain Claire Romelfanger, Amanda Shirley, Brooke Albiston, Alexis Kleckner, novice Amanda Milligan, Amber Hopkins, novice Lisa Zarubick, Lisa Peerali and Morgan Dawirs.
The second varsity eight crew’s medal-earning finish was even more impressive because its final time was so close to that of the first varsity eight crew.
“”Normally, the second eight would be 10 to 20 seconds slower than the first eight,”” Pinkerton said. “”So that shows how bad the conditions were and how well we really did. They had a really great race.””
More important, however, is that last weekend marks the first time in 12 years that the varsity eight boats have won medals in this competition.
“”This is a significant breakthrough for our varsity squad,”” Pinkerton said.
The lightweight four boat also placed well, finishing just behind Humboldt State’s 8:53 first-place finish with a 9:08 time of its own and earning a silver medal. The boat was piloted by coxswain Romelfanger, Gray, Jennifer Watters, Liz Jones and novice Cassandra Burdyshaw.
The only other UCSD boat to compete was the lightweight eight, which finished fifth with a time of 8:59, nearly a minute behind first-place Stanford University. The crew was made up of coxswain Doyle, Jones, Watters, Burdyshaw, novice Liz Record, novice Jennifer Tran, novice Micki Shieh, novice Emily Eloe and novice Grace Chau.
“”It was really bad luck, really bad conditions and we had a really light crew,”” Pinkerton said.
Although no UCSD boats qualified for nationals, Pinkerton has high hopes for next year’s team. Out of 18 varsity rowers, 16 will return.
“”Next year, we’ll have a lot of experience and a lot of rowers who know how to bring home medals,”” Pinkerton said.
Pinkerton also expects “”some great incoming transfers”” to improve the women’s crew. According to her, next year should see some electrifying results.
“”Our lightweights have always been competitive, and they’re a really young team, so next year will be very exciting,”” Pinkerton said.
