LAKEWOOD, Wash. - The five-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University swept both races contested on Sunday against boathouse rival University of Puget Sound, retaining a hold on the Lamberth Cup for the fourth consecutive season.
"It was a really exciting morning on the water with the varsity eight winning the Lamberth Cup. It's really exciting to get our seniors out with a victory in the Lamberth Cup but also to continue to set the tone for our underclassmen on what the expectation is for this race," said Head Coach
Andy Foltz.
The Lutes' varsity four boat of
Molly Miller,
Carleigh Templin,
Adriana Martinez,
Corrie Grieves, and coxswainÂ
Caitlyn Vialpando set the tone to open the morning, covering the 2,000-meter course in eight minutes, 44.1 seconds, holding a 26.8-second lead on the Loggers. The Lutes' second varsity four was third, crossing the finish 47.4 seconds behind the Lutes' 1V4 after battling equipment issues.
In the varsity eight race for the Lamberth Cup, the Lute crew ofÂ
Maggie Nieberger,Â
Elizabeth Horner,Â
Brooke Faubion,Â
Clara Froeschner,Â
Julianna Johnson,Â
Allison Sheflo,Â
Stacy Duran-Gurrero,Â
Emily Metzler and coxswainÂ
Jessie Dougherty opened up an early lead an never relented, finishing in 7:22.6 and enjoying a 12.7-second edge on Puget Sound. The victory ensured the Lamberth Cup stayed with the Lutes for the fourth consecutive year while giving the seniors a perfect 3-0 mark against UPS in Lamberth Cup racing.
"We put out two varsity fours today and won that race. It was a significant margin which is fun to see on tired legs in their third race of the weekend. It's just like the NCAA Championships where you could have three races over the course of two days so it's good practice for that and it's great to see our team come out today and get dialed in and put out some pretty good performances."
The Lutes head to the East Coast on April 9 for two days of racing at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.Â
