To say that the UCLA women’s crew team has had a bumpy
last couple of days would be an understatement. Just ask junior
rower Kristin Bixel.
Bixel was rear-ended Thursday while riding her scooter along
Gayley Avenue, injuring her wrist and seriously bruising her
backside, which forced the team to make a few last-minute
adjustments to their line-up.
Still, the varsity eight team managed to spoil the homecoming of
University of Minnesota coach Wendy Davis, a former UCLA rower and
coach, by narrowly defeating the Gophers’ varsity eight squad
6:36.7 to 6:39.8. UCLA’s junior varsity team finished the
2-kilometer course with a time of 6:53.1.
“UCLA clearly came ready to race,” Davis said.
“Good for them. Bad for us.”
Despite a rocky start and windy conditions, UCLA led the entire
way, a feat which senior rower Dawn Regan attributed to the
consistent effort of the team.
“In the past, we haven’t really put together a full
race,” Regan said. “(Today) we put together a full race
from start to finish, a nice complete race. Everyone just responded
as a unit.”
UCLA coach Amy Fuller was pleased with the win over the Golden
Gophers, a team that varsity lost to last year, but she was also
happy about the depth the team demonstrated.
“One of the things we have really made an adjustment in is
depth,” Fuller said. “Although Kristin is a huge asset,
I knew that we would be OK.”
Minnesota fared better in the novice race, beating the Bruins
6:43.3 to 6:52.6. UCLA jumped out to a fast start, but the Golden
Gophers quickly caught up, demonstrating their endurance over the
length of the course. Still, Fuller noted that nine seconds is the
closest that anybody has come to Minnesota’s novice eight
team all season.
The Bruins next host the Miller Cup Regatta on April 24.