Two tenths of a second.
That’s all that separated the Western women’s rowing varsity four from victory and defeat. They lead the entire race, but Humboldt State University was hot on their tails for all 2,000 meters.
Western prevailed over Humboldt State with a time of 7:50.3 seconds. The Lumberjacks were right behind with a time of 7:50.5.
The winning shell contained coxswain Katey Sullivan, stroke Trisha Patterson, number three Molly Ware, number two Alexa Thompson and bow Karisa Stapp.
Western delivered strong performances across the board at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.
Western’s varsity eight placed fourth in its final at 7:14.3. UC Santa Barbara took first with a time of 7:05.4.
The Viking’s junior varsity eight also placed fourth at 7:47.1. Santa Barbara again took first at 7:34.7.
Captain Maeghan Callegari was impressed with her team’s effort on Sunday, April 26.
“The team is proud of all three boats,” she said. “The [varsity] four won by .2 of a second. It really shows that in rowing, it comes down to inches. Details in perfecting the rowing stroke and every ounce of power matters.”
Despite having a young team, the Vikings are among the top teams in the region.
“[Harper] and [Imbriaco] are the novice rowers in the varsity eight with me,” Callegari said. “They have grown so much as rowers. Every week all the young women in my boat have ‘ah ha’ moments when the light bulb goes on and they begin to master a certain skill in the stroke.”
Western was ranked third in the NCAA Division II Poll before Sunday’s races. Their next competition is the Windermere Cup regatta on Saturday, May 2 at Seattle’s Montlake Cut.
