SAN DIEGO — San Diego women's rowing put four boats on the water at the San Diego Crew Classic on March 28-29 at Mission Bay, gaining valuable experience against a competitive field at one of the premier collegiate rowing events in the country to kick off the season on home waters.
"I think this is a great season opener," first year USD Head Coach Katie Thurstin said. "When you're with a new team, you never know how they're going to perform, you think they're doing the right things and you think we're moving in the right direction so actually getting out on the race course and seeing them perform was really great. We have a lot of great stuff that we can continue to get better at and build on as we go through the season."
The Toreros entered four events across the two-day regatta — the first varsity 8+, first varsity 4+, second varsity 8+ and novice 8+ in the first spring regular season regatta under first year head coach Katie Thurstin.
The first varsity 8+, coxed by Evy Melstrand and stroked by Annabelle Ruinet, opened the weekend by placing fourth in its Saturday heat in 7 minutes, 6.26 seconds before finishing seventh in Sunday's grand final with a time of 7:26.19 against a field that included several nationally ranked programs.
The second varsity 8+, coxed by Hava Appleyard and stroked by Marley Parks, put together a consistent two-day effort, placing third in its Saturday heat in 7:37.67 before finishing sixth in Sunday's final in 7:40.17.
The novice 8+, coxed by Nadia Zayas Aguilar and stroked by Zoe Caldwell, placed fourth in both rounds, posting an 8:26.93 in Saturday's heat and improving to a 7:56.66 in Sunday's grand final — a strong sign of progress for a developing crew racing at one of the most high-profile early-season regattas in the West.
The first varsity 4+, coxed by Ayla Pacheco, rounded out USD's entries, finishing eighth in both the Saturday heat (8:35.05) and Sunday's grand final (8:47.63) in a field that provided a rigorous early-season measuring stick.
The regatta also served as the home opener of sorts for the Toreros, who raced in front of a large home crowd including a large contingent of USD supporters along the shores of Mission Bay's Crown Point.
"Seeing the festivities behind this huge event has been awesome and how many alumni – local and those who flew out – came to support was really fun, it's a great tradition and we want to continue to build on that and we want to continue to bring back more alumni and really make this their homecoming and an opportunity to recconnect with their crews and boatmates as well as celebrate what the program is doing today," said Thurstin.
UP NEXT
The Toreros will train over spring break in preperation for a duel vs. Wisconsin on Saturday, April 4 on nearby Chula Vista's Otay Lake.
RESULTS
Saturday Heats
First Varsity 8+: 4th (7:06.26)
First Varsity 4+: 8th (8:35.05)
Second Varsity 8+: 3rd (7:37.67)
Novice 8+: 4th (8:26.93)
Sunday Finals
First Varsity 8+: 7th (7:26.19)
First Varsity 4+: 8th (8:47.63)
Second Varsity 8+: 6th (7:40.17)
Novice 8+: 4th (7:56.66)
LINEUPS
First Varsity 8+: Cox — Evy Melstrand; Stroke — Annabelle Ruinet; 7 — Rebecca Donn; 6 — Annika Goodwyn; 5 — Grace Kaufmann; 4 — Skye Lang; 3 — Emily Fox; 2 — Vivien Goretic; Bow — Sophia Bouvard
Second Varsity 8+: Cox — Hava Appleyard; Stroke — Marley Parks; 7 — Esme Oxman; 6 — Coco Sequeira; 5 — Leilani Gillespie; 4 — Lauren Peters; 3 — Sara Schechner; 2 — Olivia Goodwyn; Bow — Ruby Church
Novice 8+: Cox — Nadia Zayas Aguilar; Stroke — Zoe Caldwell; 7 — Abigail Moe; 6 — Petra Phillips; 5 — Ryan Alvey; 4 — Mia Cunningham; 3 — Jesi Beaulac; 2 — Cameron Gatlin; Bow — Tate Horsley
First Varsity 4+: Cox — Ayla Pacheco; 4 — Aurora MacDonald; 3 — Sarah Kowing; 2 — Leah Martinez; 1 — Sophia Quirk
