Women’s rowing takes back seat to No. 3 USC

After losing the headline Varsity Eight boat race, two wins leave looking forward to the Pac-10s

Sarah Fernbacher
Published: Monday, May 1, 2006

Despite the fact that national rowing rankings positioned UCLA’s Varsity Eight boat as the underdogs for this weekend’s meet, the girls were optimistic heading into the final dual race of the season against No. 3 USC.

Yet the No. 15 Bruins failed to pull off the upset as the boat saw a perfect record in dual meets for the season slip away at Saturday’s race in San Pedro.

“Our boat was the boat most fired up,” senior co-captain Liz Pallas-Jacobs said. “Now we’re just more fired up for Pac-10s.”

Although the Trojans were victorious, UCLA managed to decrease their boat-length separation at the 1,000-meter mark and only lost by 4.8 seconds.

“It is something for us to be proud of,” Pallas-Jacobs said. “We showed we can definitely hold our own against them.”

While the Bruins lost the headline Varsity Eight race, they earned two wins overall from the Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight boats.

“The JV boat had a great race,” Pallas-Jacobs said. “Their win was one of the bigger things that happened at the meet.”

After losing to the Trojans earlier in the season, UCLA’s Second Varsity Eight boat reclaimed bragging rights by winning with a time of 6:24.64 in the third event of the day.

“We were pretty even off the start,” junior stroke Leah Wachtel said. “Then we got pumped up even more and kept gaining at the end.”

Earlier in the day, the Bruins started the meet well when the Varsity Four boat had a come-from-behind victory with a time of 7:15.40.

The final event, featuring the Novice Eight Boats was another tight match that the Bruins again lost by four seconds.

“It is great to have this rivalry and great competitor in our own backyard,” UCLA coach Amy Fuller Kearney said. “(Now) our focus continues to be on the Pac-10 Championship and getting a bid to the NCAAs.”

Last year only the Varsity Eight boat represented UCLA at the NCAA Championships. This year the Bruins are hoping the entire team is invited.

The NCAA bids will be determined after the Pac-10 Championships, which take place in two weeks. At the Pac-10s, held in Northern California, UCLA faces many competitive schools, including California and USC, which are nationally ranked in the top three. The Bruins also face Washington State, to which they lost a close race earlier in the season.