Since 2001, the Hornet women’s varsity eight has tried to bring the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship trophy back to Sacramento State. Now is time to make room in the trophy case because on Sunday the team rowed the university’s fastest time (6:35.9) to finish just ahead of last year’s champion Loyola Marymount at the WIRA championships held at Lake Natoma.

“I’m so happy; it’s such a good feeling,” Senior Brittney Claycamp said. “It was definitely one of the best boats that I’ve been in at Sacramento State.”

Team unity on the Hornet boat may have been the deciding factor in the Hornets winning the championship. Neck and neck with LMU the entire race, the Hornets were in a dogfight for the gold medal and with about 250-300 meters left in the race, the team started its sprint toward the finish line. The varsity eight boat began its sprint as it neared Sac State’s tent which let family, friends and fans cheer their loudest to get the team going. And get going they did.

“We decided this year that we wanted it so much that we finally made it happen,” senior Laura Harder said. “We really came together this year, went for the win and did it.”

“It definitely helps when you have a boat with such good chemistry,” Claycamp said.

Claycamp and Harder, along with junior Janine LaCrosse, were named first team all-WIRA after the championship. Head coach Mike Connors explained that in rowing it is very difficult to pick out just three players from the boat, but that the three all-WIRA selections deserved the honor.

“Brittney and Laura have been a stern pair the last couple of years and this year they did a great job of being consistent and leading the team in racing and Janine is one of our strongest and is pretty close to breaking some of the team records,” Connors said.

The regatta also brought the team points title to the Hornets, a trophy that coach Connors made a goal to get when the league introduced it last year.

“The team points trophy is something that is kind of a goal of ours and I always felt like it was really important to have a lot of depth in our program,” Conners said. “I told (the team after the race) I thought it was really kind of symbolic that we won the varsity eight the same year we won the team points trophy because to me it takes a team effort to develop a really fast eight.” Connors was also named the WIRA Coach of the Year after the regatta, an honor that he feels wouldn’t be as sweet without the championship trophy.

“It’s nice because your fellow coaches vote (for Coach of the Year) so it means they’re recognizing the accomplishments of the team under you, but to me whether I win it or not is not more important than our success and winning as many of these (championship trophies) as we can.”

Armando Botello II can be reached at [email protected]