On a crisp spring afternoon on the Palouse in which the majority of weekend races were hunting for Easter eggs, the No. 10 WSU rowing team got the party started early in dueling with its state-side rival No. 19 Gonzaga in its first regatta of the spring season.

Faced with stiff competition to ring in Easter weekend and kick off the push for the NCAA Championships in May, the Cougs set aside their friendly rivalry with the Bulldogs in taking five of six races at Silver Lake.

The Cougar varsity four and second varsity four began the regatta by checking in with a pair of wins for WSU in their respective flights.

WSU’s varsity four, Ellie Burg (coxswain), Codi Swenson, Lori VerMurlen, Jenna Kennedy, and Katrina Tarrant (bow), crossed the finish line eight seconds in front of Gonzaga’s boat in a time of 7:46:63.

The second varsity four, Bethany Pupava (coxswain), Tori Gerken, Katie Persley, Jill Hannink, and Miranda Armstrong(bow), finished in a time of 7:51:61, two  seconds in front of the Bulldogs crew.

Both the WSU and Gonzaga second varsity eight boats were bogged down by seaweed and inclement racing conditions out on the water in their race, with the Cougs, Rebecca Burns (coxswain), Emily Thomson (stroke), Taija Thompson, Jessi Howe, Kim Coon, Jess Brougham, Sarah Steger, Jessica Newson, Brittany Brooks (bow), taking the victory in a time of 6:54:79, nearly eight seconds in front of the Bulldogs.

In the varsity eight race, the WSU crew, Jenna Mangiagli (coxswain), Savannah Davison (stroke), Morgan Cathrea, Jordan Watson, Kotryna Lasaite, Chloe Rogers, Lucie Weissova, Emily Morrow, Mihaela-Teodora Berindei (bow), was out to a seven-seat lead on Gonzaga before the race was stopped due to seaweed catching onto Gonzaga’s boat skeg.

After the restart, Gonzaga used a strong push at the end of the race to cross the finish line in a time of 6:40:61, one second ahead of WSU.

Following the Cougs first and only loss of the afternoon, WSU’s third varsity eight, Taylor Brown (coxswain), Sara Brevick (stroke), Megan Lee, Paige Danielson, Sheena Polman, Colleen Gibbons, Katie Weir, Tammy Hilgensorf, Kaisha Davis (bow) handily defeated Gonzaga in a time of 7:23:69, 10 seconds in front of Gonzaga.

In the final race of the regatta, the WSU fourth varsity eight, Kyla Emme (coxswain), Grace Arnis (stroke), Kaycee Faber, JoAnne Bates, Megan Compton, Mahal Johnson, Samantha Eilers, Hunter Jones, Sophia Rogers (bow) outlasted the Bulldogs by six seconds with a finishing time of 7:24:30.

The Cougs will next hit the water April 2 and 3 at the 43rd annual San Diego Crew Classic, where they will face the likes of California, Texas and Wisconsin among other schools.

Reporting by Braden Johnson