In full stroke: Rowing team dominates competition in its first regatta
Image: In full stroke: Rowing team dominates competition in its first regatta:The women?s varsity eight rows its way to victory on Saturday. (Photo by Brett Rogstad/ State Hornet):
March 7, 2001
Competing for Northern California bragging rights, the Sac State women?s rowing team went up against Humboldt State, Cal and St. Mary?s College last Saturday at Lake Natomas in Orangevale.
With high expectations entering league competition, the Hornets wanted to set the tone and standards for the rest of the season in these opening regattas, according to assistant coach Laura Macfarlane.
“The outcome of this competition gives us a good indication of how much we?ve progressed by this stage of the season,” novice rower Keri Woolery said. “We won by a landslide because most of the team rowed well together.”
The Sac State varsity eight, consisting of the top eight rowers on the squad, finished first out of four in their regatta behind stroker Meika Boyton and coxswain Breanne Hart.
The team finished with a time of 7:07, well ahead of the second place finisher Humboldt State, who recorded a time of 7:35.2. The second varsity eight finished third, followed by Saint Mary?s, and Cal lightweight. The varsity four also finished in first place, finishing at 8:02.2 over the 2,000 -meter course. The junior varsity eight placed third in the varsity race, which they joined because their scheduled competition did not show up. The novice eight placed first in their race, the novice four came in third and the varsity four finished in first place.
“We raced solid today because we focused and stuck to the game plan,” Mcfarlane said in response to the novice eight performance. “Success is a combination of putting in the time and dedication, being aggressive and improving daily. That is what we are trying to accomplish.”
Sac State?s next race is versus Santa Clara at Lake Natomas March 24. However, Mcfarlane feels the Hornets still need to make some improvements in certain areas.
“Our starts should be cleaner and our body rhythms more consistent with one another before the Santa Clara match,” Mcfarlane said. “We need to work on our sprints during the final 300 meters. Those last thirty strokes are crucial in deciding who will come up with the victory.”
