The Bulldog women's varsity eight overcame a few anxious moments near the finish to claim a victory, while the Gonzaga men's varsity eight lost by 4.4 seconds to the Vikings.

"Program wide it was a fantastic day," Gonzaga Director of Rowing and men's head coach Dan Gehn said. "I thought the crews did a great job considering the conditions."

The Bulldog women's varsity eight caught a crab with about 10-15 strokes to go, but held on for the victory in 6:52.7 to WWU's 6:55.4.

"The four seat caught a crab. It was a nice recovery in what could have been a devastating result," Bulldog head women's coach Glenn Putyrae said.

The boat came to nearly a complete stop before recovering to hold off the fast-charging Vikings.

The woes for the Bulldog women actually began much earlier in the morning when 3-year coxswain Courtney Haase was taken to a Spokane hospital with what Gonzaga training room personnel said appeared to be a case of appendicitis. Results of tests were unavailable early Saturday afternoon. Courtney Serpa did double duty in both the junior varsity and varsity eight.

"Obvisouly not having her has an impact," Putyrae said. "She's an All-West Coast Conference coxswain and the one in charge of the continuity of the boat."

The Bulldog men, meanwhile, lost a close race to the Vikings, the visitors crossing the line in 5:53.5 to Gonzaga's 5:57.9.

"I think we're the faster boat, but we haven't been rowing well lately," Gehn said. "We kind of stumbled with about 15 strokes to go and closed strong at the end. I think on flat water you would see two very good crews."

Tail winds blew throughout the morning and caused the cancellation of the final race of the day between the women's varsity four as whitecaps became more prevalent by late morning.

Gonzaga's men and women will return to Silver Lake next Saturday for a dual against UC Davis with the first race at 9 a.m.

Gonzaga vs. Western Washington Silver Lake - Medical Lake, Wash. April 13, 2002

Gonzaga vs. Western Washington Silver Lake - Medical Lake, Wash. April 13, 2002

Women's Varsity Eight - Gonzaga (Courtney Serpa, Nicole Lustig, Alexis Skipitis, Bridget Troy, Breah Neimiec, Jennie Gilpin, Maria Bokulich, Cynthia Savoca, Christine McKeown) 6:52.7. Western Washington (Ginger Busby, Karla Landis, Katy Smith, Aime Heytvelt, Marcy Chartier, Kate Watson, Karena Howell, Lindsay Wack, Beth Moore) 6:55.4.

Men's Varsity Eight - Western Washington (Renee Volland, Gabe Jacobsen, Casey Ramond, Josh Griesse, Alex Zaverhua, Jonathan King, Aaron Haack, Michael Shultis, Jim Warrick) 5:53.5. Gonzaga (Andrea Eberle, Nat Hopper, Mike Baisch, Mark Voorhees, Justin Toenes, Brad Hughes, Jeff Kiely, Dave Johnson, Nathan Wilson) 5:57.9.

Men's Junior Varsity Eight - Gonzaga (Mara Oblak, Mike Cipriano, Todd Wheeler, Dave Gilbert, Ben Foley, David Berry, Pat Haffey, Robert Richard, Tyson Zevernbergen) 6:09.5. Western Washington (Kelly Brinkley, Tyrell Marlow, Bart Hawkinson, Colin McKenna, Case Sweerus, Keith McCathern, Andy Harrison, Brandon Daves, Bob Richmond) 6:19.7. Gonzaga (Elaine Parry, Ryan Jacobson, Billy Votava, Jonathon Thorn, Mike Gallagher, Tony Lalli, Mike Wall, Tony Marchino, Kenny Votava) 6:35.2.

Women's Junior Varsity Eight - Gonzaga (Courtney Serpa, Molly Gulsvig, Andrea Genord, Kristi Aamodt, Jessica Nestor, Jenifer Gehlsen, Renee Holl, Kaylin Rostron, Karen O'Hagan) 7:06.2. Western Washington (Emily Davis, Kristen Nelson, Anna Sarff, Katy Miller, Krystol Daugherty, Brook Heichel, Alicia Maars, Alison Upsahl, Katrina Van Winkle) 7:11.4.

Women's Novice Eight - Gonzaga (Melissa Hayes, Molly Gulsvig, Andrea Genord, Kaylin Rostron, Renee Holl, Jenifer Gehlsen, Carolyn Schepper, Bethany Mulhall, Karen O'Hagan) 7:11.7. Western Washington Krissey Whaley, Anna Lee, Jamie Phillips, Krystol Daughtery, Annie Chester, Courtney Moeller, Gail Lumsden, Kim Finucan, Dana Mottet) 7:13.2. Gonzaga (Liezl Alcantara, Megan Kalvass, Kelsey Magnuson, Kara Anderson, Annie Parker, Lyndsay Cavanaugh, Amanda Gross, Stephanie Bacon, Jen Moffat) 7:33.5.

Men's Novice Eight - Gonzaga (Justin Compton, Tyson Zevernbergen, Todd Wheeler, David Berry, Ben Foley, Jonathon Thorn, Pat Haffey, Robert Richard, Mike Gallagher) 6:32.5. Western Washington (Austin Jenkins, Justin Paul, Andy Harrison, Brandson Daves, Case Sweerus, Adam Bruenderman, James Smith, Ben Bale, Garrett Leishner) 6:47.8.

Women's Third Varsity Eight - Gonzaga (Melissa Hayes, Cassy Cerny, Sarah Valenti, Joni Goodman, Carolyn Schepper, Bethany Mulhall, Holly Crea, Brittany Price, Alison Cushman) 7:03.8. Western Washington (Sarah McDonnel, Katy Greff, Brittany Kruger, Betsy Anderson, Laura Hancock, Patricia Cittadini, Laurel Kaminski, Katie Hirshberg, Brooke Hinkle) 7:08.3.