Pac-10 title a first for new rowing program

Two years after becoming a varsity sport again, the UCLA
women’s rowing team captured its first Pac-10 conference
title.

While the Bruins finished sixth overall last weekend, the novice
eight boat won its grand final by a four-second margin, capturing
the first UCLA rowing postseason title in over 10 years.

“It was a great weekend,” UCLA head coach Amy Fuller
said. “The success of the novice eight boat is a testament to
their abilities and their willingness to see the future
develop.”

“It was a great weekend for all of our boats,
though.” Fuller added.

The Pac-10 conference is easily the most difficult in the
nation, with six teams ranked in the top twenty, including No. 1
Washington and No. 2 California, which makes the Bruins’
sixth place finish even more impressive.

Cross-town rival No. 8 USC finished seventh, one spot behind the
Bruins overall.

The novice eight boat headed into the weekend with legitimate
title hopes, given its previous performances this season. Earlier
in the season at the San Diego Crew Classic, the novice eight boat
raced against many of the teams it faced last weekend. In that
regatta, the Bruins placed third, barely losing to Washington State
and Oregon State. Last weekend, though, it was all UCLA, as the
Bruins won their heat and then went on to win their grand final in
a time of 6:51.7.

“It’s nice to have a trophy,” UCLA assistant
coach Bill Zack said. In seriousness, he added, “The
championship continues to send a message as to what UCLA can do. It
says we’re here to stay.”

The novice eight boat wasn’t UCLA’s only success at
the championships, as the varsity eight and second varsity eight
both put in relatively successful performances, each winning their
respective petite (consolation) finals.

The varsity eight boat had a tough draw for their heat, facing
off against No. 2 California, No. 4 Stanford and No. 16 OSU.
Although recording a respectable time of 7:06.2, it was not enough
to qualify for the grand final. However, in the petite final, the
Bruins raced to a finish of 6:52.9 to win that race and secure a
seventh place overall finish.

“Our goal since the beginning of the season was to win the
petite final of the Pac-10s,” varsity eight boat co-captain
Irene Condella said. “We got there, and we achieved our
goal.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the championships for UCLA was
the success of the second varsity eight boat, which had not won a
race since their season opener against Long Beach State. On Sunday,
the boat found redemption, winning its petite final by three
seconds in a time of 7:09.5 and beating out teams to which it had
previously lost.

“We had a couple of really good practices this
week,” said Melanie Salter, who rowed the stroke position in
the second varsity eight boat. “Coach Fuller talked to us a
couple of times, and gave us some confidence. … We realized that
we had the potential to do well.”

UCLA also entered a varsity four boat in the championships, but
the boat was ultimately unsuccessful. It lost both its heat and
petite final races, finishing the latter with a time of 8:10.7.

Despite the success of the weekend, the Bruins were unable to
qualify for an NCAA championship berth.