March 27, 2011

REDWOOD SHORES -

For the second straight day, California women's crew won three of the four races in the final day of the Pac-10 Challenge, Sunday morning at Redwood Shores. The third-ranked Golden Bears squared off with top-ranked Virginia in three of the four races, winning two of those three.

""We got right into the thick of the race season this weekend," head coach Dave O'Neill said. "I'm pleased with the way things went, although it was tough ending the weekend with that loss in the 2V8. They're a good group, so we'll learn from it and get better. We know this is the first step, and everyone is focused on improvement. We'll take what we learned this weekend and get better."

The Bears were victorious in the varsity 8+ and the varsity 4+ against the Cavaliers. The Cal freshman eight also topped Marin Masters, 6:59.7-7:22.3.

"We expected the V8 to be a tight race," O'Neill said. "We had talked about being the underdog going into today's, and we were based on many factors. The crew made a great technical change for today's race, and it worked out very well. They're a skilled group and capable of making a change from one day to the next."

The varsity 4+ was the closest race of the day, as Cal topped Virginia by two seconds, 7:16.8- 7:18.4. The Bears also just beat the Cavaliers to the finish line in the varsity 8+ by less than three seconds, 6:28.6-6:31.1.

"The four had two hard fought races this weekend, and it was great to see them win both of them," O'Neill said. "It was the first time most of them had raced at this level, and they handled everything really well."

Virginia topped Cal's junior varsity 8+ by eight seconds.

Over the course of the weekend, Cal won five of the seven races against No. 1 Virginia and No. 14 UCLA.

Cal also dedicated and named a new eight boat "Beat Lung Cancer" in honor of Jill Costello.

"We feel Jill's presence right there training and racing with us everyday, and we'll keep her fight to beat lung cancer alive, as well," O'Neill said.

2011 Pac-10 Challenge

California Results from Sunday

Varsity 8+
1. California 6:28.6, 2. Virginia 6:31.1
Cal lineup: 1. Rosie Popa, 2. Erica Rippe, 3. Bridget Moran, 4. Elise Etem, 5. Paparangi Hipango, 6. Kara Kohler, 7. Mary Jeghers, 8. Kristina Lofman, Cox: Erica Bellis.

Junior Varsity 8+
1. Virginia 6:40.1, 2. California 6:48.5
Cal lineup: 1. Caroline Rosetti, 2. Greer Uu, 3. Maggie Simpson, 4. Avalon Radys, 5. Jen Helssen, 6. Samantha Sartor, 7. Agatha Nowinski, 8. Michelle Leason, Cox: Rachel Ersted

Varsity 4+
1. Calfornia 7:16.8, Virginia 7:18.4
Cal lineup: 1. Becca Lindquist, 2. Kyndal Mancho, 3. Amanda Atkinson, 4. Charlotte Palmer

Freshman 8+
1. California 6:59.7, 2. Marin Masters 7:22.3
Cal lineup: 1. Olivia Corwin, 2. Dani Riggs, 3. Kelly Avon, 4. Rachel Schwartz, 5. Madeline Hearst, 6. Clair Premzic, 7. Alison Declercq, 8. Emma Ballard, Cox: Lauren Chan

California Results from Saturday

Varsity 8+
1. California 6:46.1, 2. UCLA 7:03.3
Cal lineup: 1.Agatha Nowinski, 2. Erica Rippe, 3. Bridget Moran, 4. Elise Etem, 5. Paparangi Hipango, 6. Kara Kohler, 7. Mary Jeghers, 8. Kristina Lofman, Cox: Erica Bellis

Junior Varsity 8+
1. California 6:50.7, 2. UCLA 6:59.5
Cal lineup: 1. Caroline Rosetti, 2. Greer Uu, 3. Maggie Simpson, 4. Avalon Radys, 5. Jen Helssen, 6. Samantha Sartor, 7. Rosie Popa, 8. Michelle Leason, Cox: Lynn Anderson

Varsity 4+
1. California 7:37.4, 2. UCLA 7:40.1
Cal lineup: 1. Becca Lindquist, 2. Kyndal Mancho, 3. Amanda Atkinson, 4. Charlotte Palmer, Cox: Rachel Ersted

Novice 8+
1. UCLA 7:08.7, 2. California 7:16.7
Cal lineup: 1. Olivia Corwin, 2. Clair Premzic, 3. Madeline Hearst, 4. Dani Riggs, 5. Rachel Upton, 6. Rachel Schwartz, 7. Alison Declercq, 8. Megan Ryan, Cox: Lauren Chan