Results

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The six-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing team returned to the water for its first competitive race since early March, turning in a strong performance out on Mission Bay at the annual San Diego Crew Classic.

"Coming off a long training trip, we came into the weekend tired after putting in a lot of miles at Chula. This was intentional and we still raced well under the stress of a long week," said Head Coach Lizzie Mitchell.

The Lutes' varsity four boat of Jess Crespo, Chloe Froeschner, Hannah Miyasaki, Beth Hawes, and coxswain Jessica Heinauer placed runner-up in their lone race of the weekend on Saturday. The varsity four toured the 2,000-meter course in nine minutes, 7.731 seconds, earning second place in the Collegiate DII/DIII/Club final. PLU finished behind winner Orange Coast College and enjoyed a nearly 13-second advantage on the University of Colorado club team.

"The V4 only had one race this weekend and we weren't sure what to expect in the field so our strategy was very internal. The boat had an awesome race, coming from behind and following our plan to a T. It's tough to continue to fight when you have open water in front and behind but they did just that and we're extremely proud of their performance."

Pacific Lutheran's varsity eight boat finished fifth on Saturday's preliminary heats, clocking a time of 7:59.68 and finishing 13 seconds shy of a boat from Clark University.

"The V8 didn't have a clean start on Saturday and that caused a bit of tightness and rush in the boat. It took a bit top recover but at that point most of the heat had moved through us. We held our position through the middle but didn't have enough to move back into the field before the finish."

On Sunday, the Lutes finished third overall in the Final 2, traversing the 2K course in 8:02.24. Crewed by Allison Sheflo, Corrie Grieves, Mara Clay, Carleigh Templin, Adriana Martinez, Julez Johnson, Maggie Nieberger, Julia Gonzalez-Wolf, and coxswain Jessie Dougherty, the Lutes built a 12-second gap on fourth place finisher University of California-Santa Barbara.

"Going into Sunday we made some changes to the calls as well as the lineup. This provided some much needed control and poise in the boat which gave them room to fight through the middle and into the last 500. They came out closing on Clark and having a much stronger performance both mentally and physically."

PLU takes next weekend off before shipping off to the Massachusetts for two days of racing hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute.