Over the past few weeks, the Logger rowing teams have been waking up at the crack of dawn to demonstrate their love and dedication to a sport that many find their passion for in college. With both land and water practices, the crew teams live and breathe rowing while still finding the time to dedicate to their academics.
Waking up before most students, the crew teams have developed a bond that continues on and off the water and they have proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
“So far, we have seen a ton of success after taking on Western Washington, Lewis and Clark and Willamette in the past few weeks—both here at home and up in Bellingham—and a tremendous amount of growth from last year,” said junior Ben Hagen (Torrance, Calif.).
“I hope that we continue to build off of our current success going into racing season, starting Saturday [March 30] at home and next Saturday [April 6] in Vancouver, Wash. for NCRC Invites,” Hagen continued.
The Puget Sound rowing teams hosted their toughest competition yet at the Cascade Sprints on American Lake this past Saturday, March 30. The regatta featured teams from all three NCAA divisions and club teams, including last year’s NCAA Division II national champion.
In a pre-season poll the Logger women were ranked at 12th in the nation, and this weekend they were determined to prove this true. They maintained their reputation as one of the leading Division III crew teams on the West Coast with solid performances during the regatta.
The Women’s Varsity Eight team won the preliminary heat of all Division III crews with a time of 7:02 and replicated the performance down to the second in the Grand Final. Western Washington won the final with a 6:48, followed by fellow D-II teams Humboldt and UC San Diego.
The women’s 2V8 placed fifth in the grand final with a 7:23.1 and the novice team took third with a final time of 7:43.2.
The men’s team also had a solid performance on the water. The Men’s Varsity Eight took a time of 6:28 in the 2K course and the men’s JV four finished second place in their final at 7:28.6 for the Loggers’ top placing of the day.
Although the spring season has only just begun, the teams have been hard at work for the entire school year. Sophomore Kayla Acott (Cortez, Colo.) said the following:
“It doesn’t feel like the season’s just begun, since we’ve been conditioning throughout the fall and winter! It’s been amazing.
“We’ve really enjoyed welcoming and working with our new coach, Aaron Benson, and we have high expectations due to his influence. We have the opportunity and the means to receive a bid to Nationals, so we’ll work as hard as we can towards that goal,” she concluded.
The Loggers will next be on the water for the NCRC Invitational at Vancouver Lake on April 6.
