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UW Wins Top Three Races On Day One In Vegas

Apr 9, 2022

HENDERSON, Nev. – The Washington women's rowing team won three out of four races Saturday on the first of two days at the Lake Las Vegas Pac-12 Invitational. The UW's varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four their races vs. Washington State, Iowa and Clemson.
 
The varsity eight, coxed by Nina Castagna and stroked for the first time this season by McKenna Bryant, closed out the morning's regatta with win over the Cougars, Hawkeyes and Tigers. The UW crew took the lead shortly after the start and had to content only with Washington State, which kept it relatively close throughout.
 
The Huskies won with a time of 6:32.28, a little under six seconds ahead of WSU (6:38.08). Iowa (6:44.99) and Clemson (6:47.83) finished in third and fourth.
 
The UW's second varsity eight was the clear winner in its race. With Grace Murdock in the coxswain seat and Joïe Zier making her debut as the stroke rower, the UW 2V8 gained an open-water lead early on and held it the entire way. The Huskies' final time of 6:34.96 was seven seconds ahead of Clemson, which narrowly beat third-place Washington State, by 0.62 seconds. Iowa was fourth.
 
Washington's varsity four rowed a dominant race, leading from wire-to-wire. Coxed by Carina Baxter and stroked by Laurel Safranek, the UW four finished the race in 7:10.07. The battle for second place, however, was tight. In the end, Clemson edged out Iowa by exactly one second, with Washington State fourth.
 
The Huskies opened the morning with the second varsity fours race vs. SMU and Washington State. The Mustang crew took the lead from the start and won, with a time of 7:17.49. The Huskies held second place for nearly the entire 2,000 meters, maintaining contact with SMU, but in the final 200 meters or so, WSU moved through to finish second in 7:19.00. UW was third, with a time of 7:21.93. 
 
The Huskies return to Lake Las Vegas Sunday morning for another quartet of races. The Huskies will face Clemson and Oregon State in the second varsity four before racing against Alabama, USC and WSU in the varsity four and the first and second varsity eights. Racing is currently scheduled to begin at 8:40 a.m., though that is subject to change.
 
Washington's Lineups for Lake Las Vegas Pac-12 Invitational:
 
Varsity Eight
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Nina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills)
Stroke: McKenna Bryant (Kent, Wash./Kennedy Catholic)
7: Brittani Shappell (Bellingham, Wash./Walworth Barbour)
6: Aisha Rocek (Erba, Italy)
5: Abby Adebiyi (London, England, U.K.)
4: Holly Drapp (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest)
3: Claire Marion (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos)
2: Fiona Shields (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge)
Bow: Katherine Slack (Everett, Wash./Kamiak)
 
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Tenacity
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Joïe Zier (Orcas Island, Wash./Orcas Island)
7: Atlanta Bruce (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School)
5: Taylor Buell (Olympia, Wash./Capital)
4: Brianna Hoffman (Poulsbo, Wash./North Kitsap)
3: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
2: Eliza Perry (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome)
Bow: Madi Frampton (Tumwater, Wash.)
 
Varsity Four
Shell: Sykes
Stroke: Laurel Safranek (Anchorage, Alaska/West Anchorage)
3: Victoria Park (Bellevue, Wash./The Bush School)
2: Megan Andersen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
Bow: Leah Nash (Chatham, Mass./Monomoy)
Cox: Carina Baxter (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge)
 
Second Varsity Four
Shell: Raz & Sam
Stroke: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
3: Lauren Swing (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Ynez Valley)
2: Grace Epp (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
Bow: Katie Dolan (Barrington, R.I./Barrington)
Cox: Izzy Angulo (Shoreline, Wash./Holy Names Academy)