May 4, 2008

GOLD RIVER, Calif. - Rowing against five NCAA Division I schools, the Western Washington University women's varsity eight nearly beat all of them, placing second in its grand final Sunday at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta held on Lake Natoma.

"It was really, really close, a real barn burner," said Western coach John Fuchs, whose Vikings enjoyed the finest showing in school history at the WIRA Championships.

Western's top eight, ranked No.1 nationally in the latest USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division II Poll, completed the Division I Open event in 6:58.7 over the 2,000-meter course. That was just 1.1 seconds behind Gonzaga (6:57.6), which won for the second straight year.

UC Davis was third (7:00.6), followed by San Diego State (7:03.6), San Diego (7:05.6) and host Sacramento State (7:11.8).

"It was pretty much neck-and neck-the whole way," Fuchs said. "We knew it was going to be really close. We were charging at the end, but just ran out of water. This boat is definitely one of the fastest we've had, and our performance down here was one of the best we've ever had."

Both Western and Gonzaga had won their respective qualifying heats Saturday.

Seated in the Vikings' varsity eight, which suffered its first loss in six races this season, were coxswain Kristy Theodorson (Jr., Bothell/Inglemoor), stroke Staci Reynolds (Sr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.7 Metta Gilbert (Sr., Helena, MT), No.6 Meghan Woodman (Jr., Redmond), No.5 Gina Auriemma (Jr., Lake Forest Park/Shorecrest), No.4 Samantha Marikis (Sr., Republic), No.3 Amelia Whitcomb (Sr., Spokane/Ferris), No.2 Audrey Coon (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central) and bow Madeleine Eckmann (So., Winthrop/Liberty Bell).

Marikis, Whitcomb and Woodman were all-WIRA selections.

Western's two other women's entries also competed in grand finals, the novice four placing second and the second varsity eight fifth.

The Vikings' four posted a time of 8:09.5, trailing victorious UC Davis (7:54.4) by three boat lengths. Behind them were San Diego State (8:15.1), Sonoma State (8:16.8), Evergreen State (8:26.9) and Colorado (8:27.4).

"There was no way that they were going to catch UC Davis, but they opened it up and held on," Fuchs said. "That was a good performance by them."

Western's four consisted of coxswain Katie Sauerbrey (Fr., Brush Prairie/Hockinson/Clark CC), stroke Molly Blue (Fr., Snohomish), No.3 Jacqueline Ford (Fr., Redmond), No.2 Jennifer Smith (Sr., Port Angeles/Peninsula) and bow Jocylin Palmer (So., Belfast, ME/Belfast/Evergreen State).

The Vikings' second varsity eight was clocked in 7:16.2. Gonzaga (7:00.2) edged UC Davis (7:01.8) for first with Sacramento State well back in third (7:09.8). Loyola Marymount was fourth (7:13.5) and San Diego State sixth (7:22.2).

"We had a chance to medal, but it came down to depth," said Fuchs. "But they raced really hard and when they came off the water, they were pleased with their row."

In Western's second eight were coxswain Samantha Oberholzer (Fr., Bellevue), stroke Katie Tipton (Fr., Snohomish), No.7 Casey Mapes (Fr., Anchorage, AK/Service), No.6 Julia Munger (Jr., Palmer, AK/Colony), No.5 Heather Kelly (So., Bird Creek, AK/South Anchorage), No.4 Heidi Hoff (Jr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.3 Hilary Gastwirth (Jr., Issaquah/Liberty), No.2 Siri Carlson (Fr., Tacoma/Franklin Pierce) and bow Miranda Steward (So., Kenmore/Inglemoor).

The Vikings, who have won the last three NCAA II national titles, take a week off before competing in the Pacific-10 Championships/Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on May 17-18 at Lake Natoma.

Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta Championships (Gold River, Calif. - Lake Natoma)

Sunday's Grand Final Results:

V8 - 1. Gonzaga 6:57.6, 2. Western Washington 6:58.7, 3. UC Davis 7:00.6, 4. San Diego State 7:03.6, 5. San Diego 7:05.6, 6. Sacramento State 7:11.8.

2V8 - 1. Gonzaga 7:00.2, 2. UC Davis 7:01.8, 3. Sacramento State 7:09.8, 4. Loyola Marymount 7:13.5, 5. Western Washington 7:16.2, 6. San Diego State 7:22.2.

N4 - 1. UC Davis 7:54.4, 2. Western Washington 8:09.5, 3. San Diego State 8:15.1, 4. Sonoma State 8:16.8, 5. Evergreen State 8:26.9, 6. Colorado 8:27.4.

Saturday's Qualifying Heat Results:

N4 (Heat 1) - 1. UC Davis 7:57.5, 2. Western Washington 8:13.9, 3. Humboldt State 8:26.9, 4. 4. San Diego 8:36.2, 5. Saint Mary's 8:43.4, 6. Chapman 9:01.0

N4 (Heat 2) - 1. Sonoma State 8:08.0, 2. Evergreen State 8:15.4, 3. Lewis & Clark 8:15.8, 4. UC San Diego 8:38.2, 5. Portland 8:41.4, 6. Mills 9:38.9

N4 (Heat 3) - 1. San Diego State 8:11.9, 2. Colorado 8:16.5, 3. Loyola Marymount 8:19.8, 4. Long Beach State 8:28.9, 5. Arizona State 8:29.7, 6. UC Irvine 8:33.3

V8 (Heat 1) - 1, Western Washington 6:42.0, 2. UC Davis 6:45.2, 3. Sacramento State 6:51.2, 4. Puget Sound 6:52.1, 5. Loyola Marymount 7:03.8

V8 (Heat 2) - 1. Gonzaga 6:41.9, 2. San Diego 6:46.4, 3. San Diego State 6:47.8, 4. St. Mary's 6:54.7, 5. Santa Clara 7:03.7, 6. UC Irvine 7:15.8

2V8 (Heat 2) - 1. Gonzaga 7:05.0, 2. San Diego State 7:14.5, 3. Loyola Marymount 7:15.0, 4. San Diego 7:16.2, 5. St. Mary's 7:30.7, 6. Humboldt State 7:46.6, 7. Pacific Lutheran 8:00.6

2V8 (Heat 3) - 1. UC Davis 7:03.8, 2. Sacramento State 7:12.7, 3. Western Washington 7:17.4, 4. Puget Sound 7:28.2, 5. Santa Clara 7:37.1, 6. UC San Diego 7:44.7, 7. UC Santa Barbara 8:10.6

WWU Lineups:

Varsity 8 - coxswain Kristy Theodorson (Jr., Bothell/Inglemoor), stroke Staci Reynolds (Sr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.7 Metta Gilbert (Sr., Helena, MT), No.6 Meghan Woodman (Jr., Redmond), No.5 Gina Auriemma (Jr., Lake Forest Park/Shorecrest), No.4 Samantha Marikis (Sr., Republic), No.3 Amelia Whitcomb (Sr., Spokane/Ferris), No.2 Audrey Coon (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central), bow Madeleine Eckmann (So., Winthrop/Liberty Bell).

2nd Varsity 8 - coxswain Samantha Oberholzer (Fr., Bellevue), stroke Katie Tipton (Fr., Snohomish), No.7 Casey Mapes (Fr., Anchorage, AK/Service), No.6 Julia Munger (Jr., Palmer, AK/Colony), No.5 Heather Kelly (So., Bird Creek, AK/South Anchorage), No.4 Heidi Hoff (Jr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.3 Hilary Gastwirth (Jr., Issaquah/Liberty), No.2 Siri Carlson (Fr., Tacoma/Franklin Pierce), bow Miranda Steward (So., Kenmore/Inglemoor).

Novice 4 - coxswain Katie Sauerbrey (Fr., Brush Prairie/Hockinson/Clark CC), stroke Molly Blue (Fr., Snohomish), No.3 Jacqueline Ford (Fr., Redmond), No.2 Jennifer Smith (Sr., Port Angeles/Peninsula), bow Jocylin Palmer (So., Belfast, ME/Belfast/Evergreen State).