Results
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing team punched a ticket into the grand final in both races it competed in on Saturday at day one of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Lake Natoma.
"It was a great day to be a Lute," said Head Coach
Matt Oclander.
The Lutes' varsity eight boat opened up the day, finishing third in its heat to punch a ticket to tomorrow's grand final. PLU's crew of
Riah Heil,
Makayla Hall,
Hannah Miyasaki,
Natalie Gregory,
Kat Judd,
Tate Trahan,
Adia Carei,
Kennadi Jones, and coxswain
Louisa Compton cruised down the 2,000-meter course in seven minutes, 5.085 seconds, enjoying a healthy seven second gap on the University of Oregon's club team while also besting crews from Orange Coast College, Long Beach State University, and University of California-Davis. Division II juggernaut Western Washington University won the race in 6:51.912 with Division II Seattle Pacific University runner-up.
"We're feeling pretty ecstatic. It's such a great step for this program to be back in the V8+ grand final at WIRA, and I couldn't be more proud in how this crew got there. It was amazing execution and complete commitment to the process. They got out clean and really showed some great swing through the middle. We're really excited for what we can do tomorrow in the grand final."
In the second varsity eight race, a Lute crew of
Sareena Dhaliwal,
Joscelyn Barenaba,
Kate Dery,
Ashley Teague,
Tlalli Ruiz,
Adella Judge,
Suzie Roberts,
Mackenzie Poppe, and coxswain
Sarah Hoskins clocked a time of 8:09.966, besting the University of California's lightweight team by almost two seconds. Division II California Polytechnic University-Humboldt won the race in 7:25.382 with boathouse rival University of Puget Sound placing fourth in 7:55.697.
"The 2V also executed a great race. They've been steeping up their game and rowing super clean. It was a very good race with the Cal club team and it'll be exciting to see what we can do in the grand final tomorrow sitting a lane closer to the front of the field.
I think today was such a clear sign of how much this team has improved year over year. This group of Lutes is seeing their hard work pay off, and we're not done yet. We're so proud of them and now it's time to rest up and have our best races of the year tomorrow."
PLU's varsity eight will race in tomorrow's grand final at 8:50 a.m. It will be the Lutes' final opportunity to race head-to-head against Puget Sound before the selections for the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships will be unveiled in early May. The Lute second varsity eight will race in their grand final at 9:20 a.m.
