Rowing Finishes Fifth at the 2021 Pac-12 Championship
GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The No. 19-ranked Washington State rowing team finished fifth at the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championship at Lake Natoma Sunday, May 16. The Cougar's varsity four boat highlighted the regatta for WSU with a third-place finish.
The Cougs collected 20 points total at the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championship to finish fifth in the seven-team regatta. WSU has now posted a top-five finish in five of the last six Pac-12 championship regattas. Washington State placed fifth in both varsity eight races, as the first varsity eight boat collected nine points, while the second varsity eight boat tallied six points for the team in its race. The varsity four boat posted a third-place finish to add five points to the Cougar's team score.
"It was awesome to see the Cougs back on the podium," said head coach Jane LaRiviere. "The varsity four had a great race and they really energized the rest of the team. If you take into account just the NCAA team boats, we finished fourth. Both the varsity eight and varsity four boats finished ahead of their seeds and that is always a good thing. I'm really proud of this team. They have faced all sorts of challenges this year, and through it all, they have managed to have perspective, work really hard and be great teammates."
No. 19 Washington State took third in the varsity four race, as the Cougars clocked in at 7:44.700 to earn a spot on the varsity four podium. The third-place finish in the varsity four race marked WSU's highest finish since the 2006 season, when they placed a program-best second. The Cougs finished ahead of both No. 7 California and No. 18 Oregon State in the varsity four race. No. 4 Stanford upset No. 1 Washington in the varsity four race, as the Cardinal won with a time of 7:24.809.
The Cougars took fifth in the second varsity eight race with a time of 6:57.769. No. 1 Washington captured the top-spot in the second varsity eight race, while Washington State finished in front of No. 18 Oregon State and Southern California. The first varsity eight boat also captured fifth place in its race, as WSU clocked in at 6:54.667. The Huskies also won the first varsity eight race with a time of 6:34.903.
No. 1-ranked Washington claimed its fourth-straight Pac-12 Rowing Championship, as the Huskies collected 44.5 points as a team. Washington almost made it a clean sweep at the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championship, as it won four of the five scoring races. No. 4 Stanford took second place with 40.0 points, as the Cardinal won the varsity four race.
No. 19 Washington State will now wait to see if it will earn an at-large bid into the 2021 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships. The field selection will be announced this Tuesday, May 18, on NCAA.com. The championship finals are May 28-30 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.
"Now we just have to wait for Tuesday to see if we can continue our season," expressed the head coach. "Fingers crossed, I love these Cougs."
For more information on the Washington State rowing team, follow @WSUCougarRowing on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championship Scoring
1) Washington - 44.5 Pts
2) Stanford - 44.0 Pts
3) California - 31.5 Pts
4) Oregon St. - 21.0 Pts
5) Washington State - 20.0 Pts
6) UCLA - 17.5 pts
7) Southern Cal - 6.0 Pts
Varsity Four Race
1) #4 Stanford - 7:24.809
2) #1 Washington - 7:36.855
3) #19 Washington State - 7:44.700 (Grace Trujillo, Maddy Pollard, Laurita Nemeraviciute, Isabella Cristelli; Coxswain: Paloma Probart)
4) #7 California - 7:45.980
5) #18 Oregon State - 7:54.380
6) UCLA - 8:13.444
7) Southern Cal - 8:39.359
Second Varsity Eight Race
1) #1 Washington - 6:33.336
2) #4 Stanford - 6:38.644
3) #7 California - 6:48.748
4) UCLA - 6:56.757
5) #19 Washington State - 6:57.769 (Cate Field, Hana Anderson, Madeleine Bingham, Ilaria Macchi, Sue Yu, Sydney Wick, Cierra Bird, Molly Miller; Coxswain: Makenna Price)
6) #18 Oregon State - 7:01.689
7) Southern Cal - 7:03.233
First Varsity Eight Race
1) #1 Washington - 6:34.903
2) #4 Stanford - 6:37.797
3) #7 California - 6:48.748
4) #18 Oregon State - 6:51.540
5) #19 Washington State - 6:54.667 (Emma Barrett, Renee Kemp, Samantha Schmidt, Abigail Linnenkohl, Caitlin Donaldson, Jessica Norris, Lucy Climer-Kennedy, Kateryna Maistrenko; Coxswain: Ainsley Tiernan)
6) UCLA - 7:02.117
7) Southern Cal - 7:07.663