GOLD RIVER, Calif. – California is once again the Pac-12 Women's Crew Champions.
The Golden Bears used a Gold-medal performance in the varsity eight to capture their seventh conference title in the last eight years Sunday at the conference regatta on Gold River near Sacramento, Calif. The Bears, who entered the final race behind Washington in the team standings, won the varsity eight and Stanford beat out the Huskies for second place in the race. With the result, the Bears surged ahead of UW to win the conference team crown with 41 points, to UW's team total of 39.5. Washington State placed third with a point total of 30.5.
“It's a little surreal,” California head women's crew coach Al Acosta said. “We have been doing the work and making progress all season. They deserve this. We had to shuffle line-ups yesterday with the stroke of the second varsity eight out, and I am proud of the way the team responded. Each boat had a really nice row. I love sitting on the finish line and seeing our team win. It was great to see Lindsay [Meltz] jump into Kendal's [Chase] arms after the varsity eight won. It has been a pretty nice year so far.”
California's Gold-medal row in the varsity eight began from behind as the Bears covered a three-seat deficit to Stanford in the first 750 meters. They made their move just before the midpoint of the race to surge ahead by three seats over the Cardinal at the 1,000-meter mark. Cal continued its charge over the final 1,000 meters to win by open water over Stanford with a time of 6:30.6.
Cal's second varsity eight charged over the final 1,000 meters to make up ground on the lead boats and came within striking distance of first-place Washington towards the final 500 meters. The Bears took the silver medal, finishing a length behind the Huskies (6:39.7) with a time of 6:44.2.
California took the Silver medal in the third varsity eight, finishing with a time of 6:58.1, behind first-place Washington (6:47.7).
A late charge from Cal's varsity four catapulted the Bears from fifth to third place in the final 750 meters. Cal continued to close the gap on the top two boats, but ran out of water, placing third overall with a time of 7:36.5. Washington captured the race with Washington State finishing second.
California will return to Gold River in two weeks for the NCAA Championships, Friday – Sunday, May 29-31.
Team Standings
1. California 41
2. Washington 39.5
3. Washington State 30.5
4. Stanford 29.5
5. USC 20.5
6. UCLA 11
7. Oregon State 10
Varsity Eight
Results: 1. California (6:30.6), 2. Stanford (6:36.7), 3. Washington (6:39.2). 4. Washington State (6:43.7). 5. USC (6:48.8), 6. UCLA (6:53.4), 7. Oregon State (6:56.3)
Cal Lineup: Lindsay Meltz (coxswain), Kendall Chase (stroke), Ingvild Roenningen (7), Caileigh Filmer (6), Mia Croonquist (5), Jacinta Edmunds (4), Dorothee Beckendorff (3), Inger Kavlie (2), Rowan McKellar (bow)
Second Varsity Eight
Results: 1. Washington (6:39.7), 2. California (6:44.2), 3. Washington State (6:46.4), 4. Stanford (6:49.5), 5. USC (6:56.5), 6. Oregon State (6:58.4), 7. UCLA (7:09.2)
Cal Lineup: Hannah Christopher (coxswain), Sarah Schwartz (stroke), Charlotte Siering, Hunter Deuel, Maddie Wolf, Charlotte Passot, Stephanie Kraemer, Katie DeHaas, Danielle Struck (bow)
Third Varsity Eight
Results: 1. Washington (6:47.7), 2. California (6:58.1), 3. Washington State (7:01.9), Oregon State (7:10.7), 5. USC (7:12.3), 6. UCLA (7:12.7), 7. Stanford (7:14.3)
Cal Lineup: Rachel Lether (coxswain), Victoria Jorgensen (stroke), Bridget Konittinen (7), Ellen Heile (6), Cara Bohmann (5), Kendall Ritter (4), Vanessa Gerber (3), Katarina Floyd (2), Julia McKeon (bow)
Varsity Four
Results: 1. Washington (7:30.2), 2. Washington State (7:31.7), 3. California (7:36.5), 4. USC (7:41.1), 5. Stanford (7:41.7), 6. UCLA (7:51.7), 7. Oregon State (8:11.3)
Cal Lineup: Hannah Freeman (coxswain), Katie Kelly (stroke), Camilla Gardiner (3), Lisa Perrine (2), Hailey Drangsholt (bow)
