Lakers have excellent Saturday at SDCC, qualify for Grand Finals
The men’s and women’s varsity eights traveled to San Diego this weekend to compete at the prestigious San Diego Crew Classic. The team flew out of Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon and arrived at Los Angeles International late that evening. After a full sleep, both squads went to the course early Friday morning to rig and practice on the course. Following practice, the team attended a past dinner hosted by the regatta with other competitors.
Saturday morning’s heats saw the men race at 7:50 am pst in the Varsity Cal Cup. The events coaches seeded GVSU third, giving the men the top lane in the third heat. A quick start by the field placed four crews, GVSU, British Columbia, Georgia Tech, and Drexel even going through the first five hundred. The Lakers held their strong rhythm through the thousand and made a long, powerful move into British Columbia with 750 meters to go. The final stretch of the race saw the Thunderbirds of British Columbia go hard into the half length lead GVSU established. The Lakers maintained their poise to hold off the Thunderbirds, winning in a time of 6:21.8. British Columbia followed in 6:23.3 and Georgia Tech took third in 6:25.1. The Laker men advance to the grand final tomorrow at 10:50 am pst. The race will see Trinity College (CT) in lane 1, GVSU in lane 2, Washington State University in lane 3, Notre Dame in lane 4, British Columbia in lane 5, and University of California Lightweights in lane 6.
The varsity women took to Mission Bay at 9:00 am pst for their heat in the Varsity Invitational Jessop-Whittier Cup. With the top three crews advancing to the grand final, it was going to be a tough race for the Lakers. The start saw the University of Southern California jump out on the field, striking at a 46 before settling to a 36 for the body. Following the first five hundred meters, it was clear it would be a three boat race for the final two spots in the final Sunday. GVSU fought back after a rough start to pull ahead of Harvard University (Radcliffe College) and University of California- Davis in the middle of the race. With a two seat advantage heading into the final sprint, both crews pushed back into GVSU. With a final surge the Lakers held off the Crimson and Aggies, taking second in the heat in a time of 6:59.0 compared to Radcliffe’s 6:59.4 and Davis’ 6:59.5. USC took the top time in 6:44.2. The grand final will see USC in lane 1, University of Virginia in lane 2, GVSU in lane 3, Washington State University in lane 4, Radcliffe College in lane 5, and UCLA in lane 6.
Coach Bancheri said, “We dreamed of an opportunity to travel here and compete at a higher level. All of our athletes have done just that, and beyond. We feel that the sky is limit for this group. As a club, we can sit back and make excuses competing against these top programs with outstanding resources, but our athletes will not stand for that. They made a decision early this season to not let their ‘club’ status affect their standing. Tomorrow will provide our students with another chance to progress our program at a national level.”
The Laker Navy will again represent GVSU tomorrow in the grand final. The women vie for the Jessop-Whittier Cup at 9:15 am pst while the men race for the Cal Cup at 10:50 am PST.
