The No. 12 WSU women’s rowing team reigned victorious over its Eastern Washington rivals, capturing wins in two of the three varsity races over No. 18 Gonzaga to open its spring season.

Facing light rain showers and choppy but tolerable waters at Wawawai Landing on the Snake River on Saturday. The Cougars took back the Fawley Cup from the Bulldogs after losing the varsity eight race at last year’s dual regatta against Gonzaga. The win marked the Cougars’ 24th Fawley Cup victory in 27 tries.

As the sky smoothed and the water mellowed throughout the regatta, WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere said she was pleased with how the Cougars performed.

“The No. 1 goal was to get the Fawley Cup back, and we achieved that,” LaRiviere said. “Both the 1V and the 2V eights performed very well for the first race.”

Five races comprised the regatta. The Cougars won the varsity eight Fawley Cup and second varsity eight races while Gonzaga was victorious in the varsity four, third varsity eight and fourth/fifth varsity eight.

Gonzaga Head Coach Glenn Putyrae said he is content with the outcome of the regatta after winning three races.

“We’re disappointed with the results in the varsity eight race but we’re pleased in the performance of our fours and the third varsity and fourth varsity eights,” Putyrae said. “We have identified areas we can improve and look forward to getting on the water consistently so we can make some adjustments.”

The Cougars’ varsity eight boat finished the race in 7:03:44 to beat Gonzaga’s crew by more than 12 seconds. Junior coxswain Jenna Mangiagli, junior Emily Thomson as stroke, seniors Isabella Watt, Mihaela-Teodora Berindei, Nicole Hare, juniors Lucie Weissova, Kristel Tohu and sophomore Paige Danielson comprised the crew for WSU.

In the second varsity eight race, WSU crossed the finish line with a time of 7:20:77 after a strong sprint in the second half of the race in open headwater helped the Cougars gain an advantage. Gonzaga finished the race at 7:25:99.

Gonzaga’s A team won the varsity four race with a time of 8:39:66 while Gonzaga’s B team came in second with 8:56:03. WSU’s varsity four boat finished in 9:09:49.

Gonzaga then took the win in the third varsity eight with a time of 8:00:38 before posting the fastest crew in the fourth/fifth varsity eight race to conclude the meet.

The Cougars head to San Diego this week for the San Diego Crew Classic on April 1 – 2.