WSU rowing wrapped up its first spring regatta of the year earlier today by competing in the grand finals for the first varsity eight (1V8+), first varsity four (1V4+) and second varsity eight (2V8+) at the San Diego Crew Classic. Similar to their heat and prelim results from yesterday, they placed fifth across all races.
It was finals day, and the teams were competing for hardware. The 1V8+ was for the Jessop-Whittier Cup, the 1V4+ for the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup and the 2V8+ for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy. The University of Texas won all three.
First Varsity Eight:
The 1V8+ end results were almost identical to how the teams finished yesterday. The only difference was that Sacramento State finished ahead of the University of San Diego in the finals. Yesterday, USD finished ahead of Sacramento State by one second.
The Cougs started the race slowly. Early on they were neck and neck with the University of California-San Diego, the team that went on to finish last. However, they were still within reach of UCLA and Sacramento State.
As the race progressed at about the 1,000-meter mark, Texas, the University of Washington and UC-Berkeley asserted themselves as the top-three teams. They were way ahead of UCLA, the team in fourth, and all within a bow or stern of each other. Texas had a slight lead, followed by UW and then Cal.
The Cougars were in fifth place after the first 1,000 meters, but Sacramento State was not far behind.
In the last 1,000 meters, the placings did not change. Texas grew its lead over Washington and won, and Washington grew its lead over Cal and took second. Cal remained ahead of UCLA and placed third, and UCLA took fourth. WSU created some separation between itself and Sacramento State, good enough for fifth place. Sacramento State finished sixth, followed by USD and UCSD.
The Cougs finished with a final time of 7:08.745, which was six seconds slower than their 1V8+ heat race yesterday. WSU recorded a 6:36.751 last year in the 1V8+ grand finals at this regatta.
Final Results: 1. Texas (6:32.277), 2. Washington (6:39.126), 3. Cal (6:49.883), 4. UCLA (7:02.479), 5. WSU (7.08:745), 6. Sacramento State (7:13.549), 7. USD (7:22.189), 8. UCSD (7:45.189)
First Varsity Four:
Similar to the 1V8+, today’s final results were almost exactly the same as yesterday’s preliminary races. However, Sacramento State again finished better than they did yesterday, as they placed ahead of UCSD.
Yesterday’s 1V4+ race was preliminary, meaning it decided the lane placement for today’s grand final.
The Cougars started in the fifth lane, and that is around the placement they would find themselves in for most of the race. The Cougs started out well and were among the highest finishers in the opening seconds, but eventually fell back to fifth place.
They held a three-seat lead over Sacramento State, the team that finished behind WSU, for a decent portion of the race. After the first 1,000 meters, the Cougs found themselves in fifth. That would end up as their final placement, with a final time of 8:26.610. Sacramento State was close to catching up to the Cougars near the end, but still finished five seconds after.
Last season’s WSU rowing team finished the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup with a final time of 7:41.297.
As for the rest of the race, it was dominated by Texas, Washington and Cal. Cal started out the race well and had a lead over Texas and Washington in the early going. That changed before the 1,000-meter mark when Washington took the lead. Not so long after, however, Texas took the lead.
In the last 1,000 meters Cal fell behind, and the race was between Texas and Washington. Texas was ahead by about a bow’s length nearing the end. Both pushed near the finish line, especially Washington, but Texas won by one second.
Cal finished nine seconds after Washington, and UCLA finished 12 seconds behind in fourth.
Final Results: 1. Texas (7:41.158), 2. Washington (7:42.943), 3. Cal (7:51.162), 4. UCLA (8:03.050), 5. WSU (8:26.610), 6. Sacramento State (8:31.474), 7. UCSD (8:31.725), 8. USD (8:47.631)
Second Varsity Eight:
The 2V8+ grand final came down to another nail-biter between Texas and Washington. Despite Texas having a seven-seat lead for most of the race over Washington, the two kept pushing each other as the race progressed.
Near the end, Washington tried to make a last-second push to come back, but ultimately fell one second short again. Both teams blew out the rest of the competition. Cal, the team that placed third, finished 16 seconds behind Washington.
As for WSU, they had a solid start, but again stayed near the middle of the pack for most of the race. The Cougs were sixth behind USD at the beginning, but eventually worked their way to fifth. WSU created some separation as the race continued, but USD kept pushing.
WSU went on to place fifth, six seconds ahead of USD, with a final time of 7:34.588. Behind USD was Sacramento State and then UCSD.
Last year in the Crew Classic 2V8+, the Cougars posted a 6:57.771.
Final Results: 1. Texas (6:50.106), 2. Washington (6:51.860), 3. Cal (7:07.667), 4. UCLA (7:20.510), 5. WSU (7:34.588), 6. USD (7:40.174), 7. Sacramento State (7:45.840), 8. UCSD (7:50.463)
Overall, in the Cougars’ first spring regatta, they placed fifth in every event but finished a bit slower in each than they did in 2025. This sets a bar they can build on for the rest of the spring season.
WSU rowing competes again in two weekends at Wawawai Landing against Gonzaga in the Cougs’ only home regatta of the season.
