Rowing Wins 29th Fawley Cup with 1V8 Victory

COLTON, Wash. (April 19, 2024) – The Washington State women's rowing team won the Fawley Cup for the 29th time in its 32-year history with a big win in the 1V8 race Friday night.

The Cougars won the 1V8 by about four seconds in the best race of the day while improving their times from prior races this season in the 1V8, 2V8, and 1V4 races.

"All credit to Gonzaga today, they showed up ready to rumble," said Head Coach Jane LaRiviere. "Our V8 got the job done and are growing as a crew. The 2V8 and V4 will learn from their races today. There is alot of season left and alot of speed to be gained."

The main race of the day, the first varsity eight, was the closest race of the day, with the Cougs winning by a boat's length. After the first 1000 meters, Gonzaga held about half a boat's length in front of WSU. The Cougars held that lead going into the final 500 meters before pulling away down the stretch for the win. The Cougs ultimately won the race with a time of 6:33.24 and Gonzaga was not far behind with a time of 6:37.28.

WSU opened the afternoon with a close loss to Gonzaga in the second varsity four race. Gonzaga finished with a time of 7.53.00 while the Cougs finished in 8.04.74. The race started off with both boats within a boat's length of each other before Gonzaga pulled out to a half a length on the Cougar boat at the 1,000-meter mark. Gonzaga took a boat's length lead shortly after, and despite a Cougar push at the end of the race, Gonzaga took the win by about two boat's lengths.

In the second race of the day, the Cougar's fourth varsity eight finished with a time of 7:54.0. 500 meters into the race Gonzaga had a tight lead of the Cougs. At the 1,000-meter mark, the Gonzaga boat had about a boat's length on WSU. Gonzaga took a strong end to the race and ultimately finished, with a time of 7:37.7 about 3 boat's lengths in front of the Cougars.

The third race of the day was the first varsity four boats in which Gonzaga won in a time of 7:36.62 to the Cougars' time of 7:55.59. After 1,000 meters Gonzaga held a one boat's length lead over the Cougars, but stretched to a two boat's lengths lead with roughly 500 meters to go. Although falling in the race, the Cougs improved their time by 10 seconds compared to the San Diego Crew Classic.

The second varsity eight race finished in dramatic fashion with Gonzaga just outrowing the Cougs. At the 1,000-meter mark, the Zags were about a boat's length in front of the Cougars, however, the Cougs pushed hard at the end and made it a close race to the finish line. Gonzaga won the race with a time of 6:46.12 and the Cougars finished with a time of 6:52.59. The Cougs also improved their time from the San Diego Crew Classic by roughly 20 seconds.

The race that ended the night was the third varsity eight race in which Gonzaga started the first 500 meters ahead by about half a boat's length in front of the Cougs. At 1,000 meters down, the Zags extend their lead to about two boat lengths, ultimately winning the race with a time of 7:03.98 and the Cougars came second with a time of 7:19.17.

The Cougars will continue their spring season with one more regatta on April 26-27 at the Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina before the Pac-12 Championship on Sunday, May 19 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.

Friday's Results
1V8+
1) Washington State – 6:33.24 (Amy Patten, Jess Schneider, Siena Snow, Fiona Elliott, Eliza Dawson, Ilaria Macchi, Jaeve Proberts, Sydney Wick; Coxswain: Ainsley Tiernan)
2) Gonzaga – 6:37.28

2V4+
1) Gonzaga – 7:53.00
2) Washington State – 8:04.74 (Makenna Bylund, Eleanor Curtright, Abby Cady, Natalie Spring; Coxswain: Audrey Gulig)

4V8+
1) Gonzaga – 7:37.70
2) Washington State – 7:54.00 (Ella Schulz, Hannah Fabacher, Ella Bridenback, Madelyn Mann, Sage Cadwell, Olivia Sloma, Sofiya Freimuth, Daniella Vicente; Coxswain: Hailey Littleton)

1V4+
1) Gonzaga – 7:36.62
2) Washington State – 7:55.59 (Elle Kadir, Isabella Jachymek, Emily Corbett, Mackenzie Shipley; Coxswain: Vera Lichvarcik)

2V8+
1) Gonzaga – 6:46.12
2) Washington State – 6:52.59 (Makayla Tuley, Lucy Munro, Hannah Elliott, Jess Horrigan, Izabela Janecek, Tannith Johnson, Hana Anderson, Saskia Steltman; Coxswain: Ella Greenslade)

3V8+
1) Gonzaga – 7:03.98
2) Washington State – 7:19.17 (Olivia Sloma, Sofiya Freimuth, Daniella Vicente, Jennifer Rogg, Makenna Bylund, Eleanor Curtright, Abby Cady, Natalie Spring; Coxswain: Katrina Trubnikov)