The second varsity eight and open eight boats claimed third-place finishes for the No. 15 WSU Women’s rowing team at the San Diego Crew Classic.

The two-day event at Mission Bay was accompanied with three other ranked teams in addition to the Cougars, 65-plus degree weather and a competitive atmosphere in the second week of the spring season.

On Saturday, all four WSU boats finished in third place or better and advanced to Sunday’s Grand Final races. Head Coach Jane LaRiviere said she was happy with the results and was ready for Sunday’s races.

“It was productive to race against tough competition, and it’s good to be on to the Grand Finals,” LaRiviere said. “We need to get off the line a lot better, and are looking forward to another crack at it tomorrow.”

The Cougars’ varsity eight took second place in Saturday’s prelims with a time of 6:34:521 to advance to the Jessop-Whittier Cup Grand Final on Sunday. WSU’s momentum did not carry over into Sunday’s race, however.

The Cougars placed fourth in the race, crossing the finish line at 6:29:37, nearly 13 seconds behind first-place finisher No. 6 Texas. No. 13 USC took second with a time of 6:20:55.

In the third preliminary heat for the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup, the Cougars’ varsity four crew placed second with a time of 7:33:961 but again fell short in Sunday’s final, finishing in fifth at 7:36:709. No. 13 USC took first place at 7:15.025

WSU claimed third-place finishes in the Grand Finals in both the second varsity eight and open eight races, after placing second and third in the prelims respectively. The Longhorns took first place in the second varsity eight finals with a time of 6:35:15 while Stanford won the open eight finals after crossing the finish line in 6:54:189.

LaRiviere acknowledged the Cougars’ underperformance in Sunday’s finals and said the team has work to do.

“We had OK rows this weekend,” LaRiviere said. “There’s lots of room for improvement. We identified areas that we need to work on, so that’s what we will do this week.”

The Cougars will hit the water on Saturday at the Oregon State Classic in Lowell, Oregon. The regatta will be held at the Dexter Reservoir and is set to start at 9 a.m

Reporting by Gabriel Bravo.