SACRAMENTO — San Diego women's rowing traveled to Lake Natoma over the weekend to compete in the West Coast Conference Rowing Championships, getting four boats on the water in the Grand Final competition before finishing fourth overall in the event. 
 
The Toreros earned top-four finishes across the board on Friday's heats, advancing all four competing boats to the Grand Final. In the closest race on the day, San Diego's first varsity eight, coxed by Everett Melstrand and stroked by Annabelle Ruinet, crossed the finish line first finishing with a time of 6:55.151, edging Sacramento State's 6:56.171. The second varsity eight, coxed by Hava Appleyard and stroked by Ruby Church, finished in third place with a time of 7:19.718. 
 
The first varsity four, coxed by Ayla Pacheco and stroked by Petra Phillips, posted a second-place finish with a time of 7:51.708. In the first race of the day, the second varsity four boat representing the Toreros had a third place finish with a time of 8:12.040, which made it that all the boats got at least a third place finish competing for San Diego, advancing them to the second day of racing the next day.
 
On Saturday, the first varsity eight earned the highest placing among the Toreros, finishing second with a time of 6:54.345. The first and second varsity four boats both finished fourth place in their Grand Finals, posting times of 7:55.687 and 8:07.261, respectively.

"It was a great day for the Toreros." said head coach Katie Thurstin after the race. "Every boat progressed to the grand finals and the 1st Varsity 8+ won silver against Oregon State. This weekend's success is a great platform to jump off for the coming year. I'm sad to lose our seniors. It was wonderful getting to know them and watch them lead by example. They're all going to do great things in life."
 
A pair of San Diego student-athletes also received All-WCC recognition for their racing over the weekend, as Annika Goodwyn and Annabelle Ruinet were named to the 2026 All-WCC Rowing Team.
 
Results
 
Friday:
First Varsity 8+: 1st place (6:55.151)
Second Varsity 8+: 3rd place (7:19.718)
First Varsity 4+: 2nd place (7:51.708)
Second Varsity 4+: 3rd place (8:12.040)
 
Saturday:
First Varsity 8+: 2nd place (6:54.345)
Second Varsity 8+: 6th place (7:24.263)
First Varsity 4+: 4th place (7:55.687)
Second Varsity 4+: 4th place (8:07.261)
 
Lineups
First Varsity 8+: Cox — Evy Melstrand; Stroke — Annabelle Ruinet; 7 — Rebecca Donn; 6 — Annika Goodwyn; 5 — Emily Fox; 4 — Grace Kaufmann; 3 — Esme Oxman; 2 — Skye Lang; Bow — Sophia Bouvard
Second Varsity 8+: Cox — Hava Appleyard; Stroke — Ruby Church; 7 — Marley Parks; 6 — Zoe Caldwell; 5 — Coco Sequeira; 4 — Aurora MacDonald; 3 — Leilani Gillespie; 2 — Jess Carter; Bow — Vivien Goretic
First Varsity 4+: Cox — Ayla Pacheco; Stroke — Petra Phillips; 3 — Olivia Goodwyn; 2 — Cora Mahaney; Bow — Tate Horsley
Second Varsity 4+: Cox — Elle Karanian; Stroke — Leah Martinez; 3 — Sarah Kowing; 2 — Cameron Gatlin; Bow — Sophia Quirk