Rowing hopes for stroke of luck in Pac-10

In what may be its last day of races this season, the UCLA rowing team is scheduled to travel to Lake Natoma for the Pac-10 Championships on Sunday.

The Bruins enter this weekend facing several top 20 teams, including No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 California, No. 10 USC, No. 11 Washington State and No. 18 Oregon State.

Despite the team’s stiff competition, coach Amy Fuller Kearney maintains a positive outlook, even though UCLA is the only unranked squad in the conference.

“It’s going to be some great competition, and we’re really looking forward to getting out there and putting our best race forward,” Fuller Kearney said.

With many of their races being lost by margins of just a few seconds, the Bruins have had a challenging season and have been unable to establish momentum before the conference tournament. In their last regatta, they fell to the Trojans 6-1.

“This year we have had so many obstacles, and we keep picking ourselves up and dusting ourselves off,” Fuller Kearney said. “This weekend I’m really hoping they put forward a heroic effort.”

The Bruins would have to perform a slew of upsets to emerge near the top of the standings and earn a bid to the NCAA Championships. Fuller Kearney is looking for a gutsy performance from the rowing squad.

“Whenever you’re facing obstacles, you see what you’re made of,” Fuller Kearney said. “I know this team is not only made of a lot of great athletes but a lot of great young women who are going to give their best for themselves and the university.”

Fuller Kearney said that the Bruins have been focusing on entering the weekend regatta relaxed and confident. With a calm and cool team, Fuller Kearney hopes they can race their best times of the season.

In NCAA rowing, each school brings four teams: two varsity teams with eight rowers each, a varsity team with four rowers and a novice team with eight.

At the Pac-10 Championships, each of a school’s four teams race in a series of morning heats to determine if they will race in either the championship or consolation races. The tournament will be webcast live at Pac-10.org.

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