Rowing Kicks off the 2021-22 Season This Saturday at the Head of the Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Washington State rowing team hits the water for the first time this fall, as the Cougars head up north on U.S. 195 to the Lilac City this Saturday, Oct. 23, to race in the Head of the Spokane. The regatta is set to begin at 9 a.m. PT on the Spokane River.

Saturday will mark the first time that Washington State has rowed in a fall regatta since the 2019-20 season, as the NCAA canceled all fall races last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a familiar setting for the Cougars when make their return to the water, as WSU has competed in the Head of the Spokane in every season under head coach Jane LaRiviere. 

"It's really great to have fall racing back on the schedule," expressed LaRiviere. "It's really interesting because last year fall races were canceled. Now this year we are racing less (in the fall), because I thought there were some good things that came out of not racing in the fall. We added a couple of events this fall because we do so much training, that it's hard for the women on the team to not have an opportunity to show what they've been working on."

This year's rendition of the Head of the Spokane features four teams, the Cougars will row against host Gonzaga, Oregon State and Loyola Marymount. Saturday's regatta will be ran in two flights, with the first one taking place at 9 a.m. PT and the second flight will start at 10:40 a.m. PT.

"The Head of the Spokane is a great event, and its awesome that Oregon State and LMU are coming up this year. This is Oregon State's first time racing in this regatta and LMU is coached by Karl Huhta, who was a longtime assistant for WSU. So, it will be nice to see everybody and see some Pac-12 competition in the fall."

The Washington State rowing team is coming off a 2021 season that saw the Cougars earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Rowing Championships for the 16th time in program history. Washington State finished 15th as team at the NCAA Championships, while the varsity four boat placed 10th overall. The Cougars returns 17 of the 23 rowers that competed for WSU at last season's NCAA Rowing Championships, which includes CRCA Pocock All-American Jessica Norris.

For more information on the Washington State rowing team, follow @WSUCougarRowing on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.