SACRAMENTO, Calif. – San Diego women's rowing tested itself against some of the top programs in the country at the highly-touted Big Ten Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19, at Lake Natoma.
 
"I'm really proud of how everyone showed up throughout the weekend," said first-year head coach Katie Thurstin. "Racing three times over the course of two days is really hard and tests both the athletes endurance and ability to recover."
 
The Toreros were one of eight non-conference invited programs for the regular season's biggest regatta, competing alongside all 11 Big Ten institutions in a field that included eight nationally ranked teams — No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 Washington, No. 9 California, No. 12 Rutgers, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 17 Michigan, No. 20 UCLA and No. 23 Indiana.
 
San Diego's most competitive efforts over the weekend came in the first varsity eight, coxed by Evy Melstrand and stroked by Annabelle Ruinet, which placed fourth in both Saturday sessions — posting a 6:39.187 in the morning against No. 16 Ohio State, No. 12 Rutgers and No. 20 UCLA, and a 6:39.948 in the afternoon against USC, Michigan State and Washington State. On Sunday, the first varsity eight improved to third place, clocking a 6:46.440 to finish behind Iowa (6:39.350) and Sacramento State (6:45.972).
 
The first varsity four, coxed by Ayla Pacheco and stroked by Jess Carter, also showed improvement across the weekend, placing fourth in the Saturday afternoon session in 7:45.898 before rebounding to third on Sunday in 7:45.058, trailing Iowa (7:31.580) and Wisconsin (7:43.600).
 
The second varsity eight, coxed by Hava Appleyard and stroked by Marley Parks, finished fifth in the Saturday afternoon session in 7:02.257 before placing fourth on Sunday in 7:06.342, behind Iowa (6:45.115), Wisconsin (6:55.082) and Sacramento State (7:00.827).
 
The second varsity four, coxed by Elle Karanian and stroked by Petra Phillips, placed fifth Saturday afternoon in 8:02.647 and improved to third Sunday in 8:00.919, finishing behind Wisconsin (7:35.951) and Iowa (7:36.734).
 
The third varsity four, coxed by Nadia Zayas Aguilar and stroked by Cameron Gatlin, placed fourth Sunday in 7:52.747 against No. 20 UCLA, Minnesota and Iowa.
 
"It was great seeing the team compete so well amongst nationally ranked teams," Thurstin said. "The B1G boasts some of the biggest rosters and depth in the sport of rowing."
 
UP NEXT
The Toreros return to America's Finest City for the Triton Invite, taking place Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26 on Otay Lake.
  LINEUPS
First Varsity 8+: Cox — Evy Melstrand; Stroke — Annabelle Ruinet; 7 — Rebecca Donn; 6 — Annika Goodwyn; 5 — Coco Sequeira; 4 — Grace Kaufmann; 3 — Esme Oxman; 2 — Skye Lang; Bow — Sophia Bouvard
Second Varsity 8+: Cox — Hava Appleyard; Stroke — Marley Parks; 7 — Leilani Gillespie; 6 — Zoe Caldwell; 5 — Emily Fox; 4 — Sara Schechner; 3 — Olivia Goodwyn; 2 — Ruby Church; Bow — Vivien Goretic
First Varsity 4+: Cox — Ayla Pacheco; Stroke — Jess Carter; 3 — Sarah Kowing; 2 — Aurora MacDonald; Bow — Tate Horsley
Second Varsity 4+: Cox — Elle Karanian; Stroke — Petra Phillips; 3 — Cora Mahaney; 2 — Leah Martinez; Bow — Sophia Quirk
Third Varsity 4+: Cox — Nadia Zayas Aguilar; Stroke — Cameron Gatlin; 3 — Ryan Alvey; 2 — Mia Cunningham; Bow — Jesi Beaulac