By Jessica Bach
Daily Bruin Contributor
It was a test of endurance for the UCLA women’s rowing
team, as it battled the weather and bad rowing conditions to sweep
Santa Clara.
The headwind started slightly around an hour before the start of
the race, but by 11 a.m. ““ when the Varsity and JV were
schedule to race ““ it had built up to become a significant
factor for the boats.
But despite these conditions, both the varsity and novice boats
captured victories against the Broncos at the Stanford Invitational
on Saturday.
“The wind really affects racing ability,” UCLA head
coach Amy Fuller said. “It’s hard to gauge results when
there are strong headwinds.”
The results were good though, as the Bruins continued with their
success against Santa Clara.
In the varsity race, Santa Clara held with the Bruins until the
first quarter of the race. But by the 1,000-meter mark, the Bruins
had gained a three-second lead on the Broncos and by the finish,
UCLA came in 10 seconds ahead of the them, at 7:41.64 to their
7:51.75, with the JV rounding out the three at 8:14.50.
“I’m very pleased with the Varsity’s
performance,” Fuller said. “They increased their
margins they won by, and they adjusted to the
conditions.”
For the Novice, it wasn’t so easy. Their race was one of
the closest they’ve had all season.
Santa Clara began with the early lead, coming out three seconds
ahead of UCLA for the first half. But the Bruins came back, making
a move in the last 500 meters. They finished with a lead of three
seconds at 7:49.52 to the Bronco’s 7:52.86.
“We really wanted to reach a higher level of rowing from
the Novice boat,” Fuller said. “We were hoping for them
to come out with a higher percentage of quality strokes in the race
and really leave the novice level behind. But I was impressed that
they learned to get past the bad conditions.”
The Bruins will continue their racing action this weekend when
they host the Miller Cup at Marina Del Rey on Saturday.