May 1, 2005

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - Gonzaga University's women's rowing team might have to build a new trophy case just for what the Bulldogs had to carry home this weekend.

The Bulldogs capped perhaps their best weekend in rowing history by taking three Grand Final titles at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on Lake Natoma. Gonzaga won the varsity 8+, junior varsity 8+ and novice 4+ titles, and finished third in the varsity 4+ Grand Final despite a last-second lineup rotation.

That capped a weekend that saw the Bulldogs sweep all three races Friday in claiming a ninth straight West Coast Conference title, the only school to win the crown since the inception of the championship in 1997.

The varsity 8+ trailed by as much as four seats in the Grand Final, but came on strong in the final 500 meters to win in 6:45.7 to beat WCC foe Loyola Marymount University which finished second in 6:48.1.

The junior varsity 8+ led wire-to-wire in winning in 6:57.8, good for a 2.2 second victory over Sacramento State University.

The novice 4+ posted the most lopsided Bulldog victory of the day, winning in 7:46.8 to the 7:52.0 of runnerup UC-Santa Barbara.

The varsity 4+ went with a makeshift lineup after stroke Liz Sambach spent Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning at an urgent care facility with flu symptoms. Brittany Price moved from her normal bow seat to the stroke and Julie Smetana, who rowed in the novice 4+ victory, entered the varsity 4+ boat as the bow. The Bulldogs finished third in 7:46.5 with WCC rival Saint Mary's College winning the title in 7:40.0.

"It was an outstanding day," Gonzaga head coach Glenn Putyrae said. "Everybody rowed well, but I was especially proud of the way Brittany and Julie responded to the last-minute switch and of the way Liz handled the entire situation. She probably could have rowed, but she wanted the strongest possible boat on the water and in the end she felt that meant she would not compete. It's been a great weekend."

The varsity 8+ was comprised of junior coxswain Erin Palmiter (Kalispell, Mont.), junior stroke Kari Durgan (Vancouver, Wash.), senior Karen O'Hagan (Tucson, Ariz.), freshman Cory Nelson (Reno, Nev.), sophomore Jessica Kocarnik (Portland, Ore.), freshman Stephanie Murphy (Puyallup, Wash.), freshman Courtney Haia (Waimanlo, Hawaii), junior Sarah Allison (Highland Ranch, Colo.) and sophomore bow Nicole Aadland-Lewis (Bothell, Wash.).

The JV8+ boat seated freshman coxswain Joan Aubry (Olympia, Wash.), junior stroke Jenni Cooper (Seattle, Wash.), senior Carolyn Schepper (Sammamish, Wash.), sophomore Teresa Archuleta (Altadena, Calif.), sophomore Heather Jewell (Oak Harbor, Wash.), freshman Grace Wallace (Jackson Hole, Wyo.), freshman Kelsey Koenig (Everett, Wash.), junior Mariah Smith-Miloff (Billings, Mont.) and freshman bow Kathryn Kocarnik (Portland, Ore.). Rowing in the varsity 4+ were sophomore coxswain Mimi Refuerzo (Vancouver, Wash.), senior stroke Brittany Price (Lake Oswego, Ore.), junior Cherami Cadwell (Richland, Wash.), freshman Kelsey Raap (Cheyenne, Wyo.) and freshman bow Julie Smetana (Lansford, Md.).

The novice 4+ was made up of coxswain Aubry, freshman stroke Whitney Patrick (Spokane), Smetana, freshman Sara Amatuzio (Englewood, Colo.) and freshman bow Jennifer Pierce (Anchorage, Alaska).

Last season the Bulldogs had one title and five other boats finish in the top three, and in 2002 the Bulldogs claimed two titles for their best previous WIRA championship showing until Sunday.

Gonzaga will compete in the Pacific-10 Conference Championship May 15, also on Lake Natoma. The Bulldogs will enter the varsity 8+ and varsity 4+ boats.

WIRA Championship Women's Results

Grand Final

Varsity 8+ - 1. Gonzaga 6:45.7. 2. Loyola Marymount 6:48.1. 3. Sacramento State 6:49.5. 4. Western Washington 6:54.5. 5. Puget Sound 6:55.6. 6. San Diego 6:59.2

Junior Varsity 8+ - 1. Gonzaga 6:57.8. 2. Sacramento State 6:59.6. 3. UC-Davis 6:59.7. 4. San Diego State 7:08.1. 5. Puget Sound 7:08.3. 6. Loyola Marymount 7:09.8.

Varsity 4+ - 1. Saint Mary's 7:40.0. 2. Seattle Pacific 7:43.1. 3. Gonzaga 7:46.5. 4. Western Washington 7:48.4. 5. Long Beach State 7:50.7. 6. Oregon 7:51.4

Novice 4+ - 1. Gonzaga 7:46.8. 2. UC-Santa Barbara 7:52.0. 3. San Diego 8:03.3. 4. Saint Mary's 8:12.8. 5. Sacramento State 8:26.6. 6. Cal Lightweights 8:40.9