Coming off a competitive and adrenaline-filled weekend, the UCLA women’s rowing team left the Pac-12 championships with pride and self-satisfaction from its performance as it came in fourth place overall in the Pac-12 championships with 27.0 points.
“The weekend was executed very well for the Bruins,” said sophomore coxswain Logan Warwick. “The Pac-12 conference is extremely fast so we are happy overall.”
The Bruins found a restored energy in the different performances this weekend, including the novice eight, which started off Sunday with a second-place finish of 6:54.50.
“The novice eight had an exciting race starting off the day with a silver-medal finish which the varsity eight was able to watch before launching,” said junior port Kate Miller. “We were certainly inspired by their performances and it gave us even more motivation for our race.”
The varsity eight, racing against several top-20 teams, had one of its strongest races of the year. The Bruins came off the starting line with a blast, and for the first 1000 meters they were ahead many of the other boats that were ranked ahead of them. UCLA finished fifth with a time of 6:28.87.
“What I am most proud of is that when Washington, who was in the lane next to us and ended up placing second in the varsity eight event, started walking through us, we didn’t let that rattle us,” Miller said. “We sat up and dug in, really embodying the fire and fight of our team motto, ‘rise up.’”
The second varsity eight also turned in a strong performance as they finished in second place with 6:37.10. The varsity four also came in fifth with 7:33.50.
Looking toward improvements, the Bruins found that their hard work and focus on establishing rhythm was well executed this weekend, as indicated by Warwick.
“We knew that we had to stay internal and focus in on our rhythm and maintain boat speed,” said senior port Carolina Paini. “As a result, we were able to push ahead of five top-tier programs. We will not settle here. The experience of wearing a medal around our neck on the podium will fuel our fire to make the podium once again in two weeks in Indianapolis.”
With eagerness and high hopes, UCLA waits for the results that come out on Tuesday, which will indicate whether they receive a bid to compete in the NCAA championships.
“Now we wait and see if we get an at-large bid to the NCAA championships. … Our chances are looking good. The work ethic and focus that we showed is what I have come to expect from this incredibly dedicated group of girls,” Miller said.