May 1, 2008

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University women's crew team heads to Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., this weekend for both the West Coast Conference Championships and the WIRA Championships. The Bulldogs are looking to win their 11th West Coast Conference Crown in 12 years and looking to again dominate the WIRA's. Last season the Zags won two races and placed second in another at the WIRA's.

Gonzaga will start the championship weekend off on Friday morning at the West Coast Conference Championships. The Bulldogs, whose streak of nine-straight WCC titles was broken by Loyola Marymount University in 2006, reclaimed the championship easily in 2007 by winning all three races by an average of 17 seconds. The race will begin with the Varsity 4+, followed by the Second Varsity 8+ and Varsity 8+.

"We have put a lot of pressure on ourselves to win our 11th WCC Championship, and are ready for the challenge," stated first-year head coach Melissa Flint. "We are looking forward to getting in some more racing experience before the WIRA Championships. The athletes are excited to race teams from the west coast and continue building towards the PAC-10 Championships."

On Saturday morning the Bulldogs look to continue their solid rowing at the WIRA Championships. The Varsity 8+ boat won the gold for the second time in three years last season, while the Novice 8+ took top honors for the second-straight season. The Second Varsity 8+ boat placed second and earned a silver medal in 2007.

The Gonzaga Varsity 8+ has been seeded second in the WIRA draw and will be racing in the second of two heat races. Also racing in the Bulldogs heat will be the University of San Diego, San Diego State University, Saint Mary's College, Santa Clara University and UC Irvine. The top three boats from each race advance to Sunday's Grand Final.

The Second Varsity 8+ has been seeded first and will be racing in the first of two heat races. The Zags will race against San Diego, San Diego State, Loyola Marymount University, Saint Mary's, Humboldt State University and Pacific Lutheran University.

The Novice 8+ earned a three seed and will race in the third of three heat races on Saturday. Gonzaga will be pitted against Orange Coast College, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Long Beach State University and Evergreen.

Also racing will be a Varsity 4+ boat, which will be in the third of three heats on Saturday afternoon. Also racing in the third heat will be UC San Diego, Santa Clara, UC Davis, Long Beach State and Sonoma State University.

"Our goal is to win as many events as we can at the WIRA's," explained Flint. "There is going to be some tough competition at WIRA's, but we feel prepared to compete at that level. We may not have a lot of racing experience from this year, but we have a lot of experience within each boat. Each varsity boat has WCC, WIRA, and PAC-10 champions in it, and the novices have progressed a lot in the last couple weeks."

Schedule for the WCC Championships 
(Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Calif.)
Friday, May 2
9:20 a.m. - Women's Varsity 4+
9:40 a.m. - Women's Second Varsity 8+
10:00 a.m. - Women's Varsity 8+

Heat Racing Schedule for WIRA Championships
(Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Calif.)
Saturday, May 3-Sunday, May 4
10:20 a.m. - Women's Varsity 8+
11:50 a.m. - Women's Novice 8+
12:40 p.m. - Women's Varsity 4+
2:00 p.m. - Women's Second Varsity 8+

Lineups:
Varsity 8+: Joan Aubry, Kelly Steinhaus, Whitney Engle, Katie Atkins, Hanna McClintock, Cory Nelson, Kelsey Koenig, Liz Moore, Julie Smetana

Second Varsity 8+: Sarah Rotar, Kari Sulenes, Chelsie Eddings, Whitney Patrick, Jana Holcombe, Teagan Towhey, Stephanie Murphy, Sami Koppinger, Sierra Tittle

Varsity 4+: Emily Wilson, Katherine Krueger, Alissa Stempson, Sam Cekovic, Lana Bowie

Novice 8+: Rachel Cregg, Therese Yrani, Alexa Bostwick, Andrea Ness, Madison Feddersen, Megan Morris, Hannah Winters, Courtney Norris, Rachel Schlosser