WSU’s second varsity four captures gold in San Diego

Cougars boat finishes 11 seconds ahead of UCLA to earn victory

PAIGE CAMPBELL | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE

WSU’s third varsity eight competes in a regatta against four other teams March 24 on the Snake River.

DYLAN GREENE, Evergreen deputy sports editor

WSU rowing capped a weekend at the San Diego Crew Classic on Sunday with its second varsity four capturing gold in its race.

The second varsity four consisting of senior Emily Weible, sophomore Ony Chigozie, junior Isabella Cristelli, junior bow Ella Cowan de Wolf and coxswain Jennifer O’Dell claimed first in the Women’s Collegiate 4+ B entries final with a time of 8:08.635. UCLA crossed the finish line nearly 11 seconds later to claim second and Oklahoma took third.

Head Coach Jane LaRiviere said she was proud of her team’s performance.

“Competition was fierce and we have two weeks to get better and that’s what we are going to do,” she said in a WSU news release.

The Cougars varsity eight grabbed sixth in the battle for the Jessop-Whittier Cup clocking in with a time of 6:54.318. No. 2 Cal won the cup with a time of 6.33.434 followed by No. 1 UW in second, No. 4 Texas in third, No. 3 Stanford in fourth and UCLA in fifth.

WSU also finished sixth in the race for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy with its second varsity eight. The Cougars finished over 32 seconds behind first-place Stanford who clocked a time of 6:39.198 to claim the cup.

The Cougars varsity four consisting of junior coxswain Hannah Welzbacker, junior Linnea Davison, senior Grace Arnis, senior Madeleine Bingham and sophomore bow Emma Barrett earned second in the Varsity 4+ Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup Final 2 with a time of 7.37.239. San Diego State edged out WSU by three seconds to claim first.

WSU will take nearly two weeks off before they return to the water to take part in the Clemson Invite on April 19-20 at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, South Carolina.