Oct. 23, 2005

BOSTON -- The Washington State University's women's varsity eight crew finished in 10th place overall and seventh among collegiate crews Sunday at the 41st Head of the Charles Regatta.

"It's an outstanding, outstanding performance by our women," head coach Jane LaRiviere rejoiced after the race. "One of our goals that no one wanted to talk about was finishing in the top 10. We couldn't be happier."

The crew crossed the finish line with a time of 17:30.866, just under a minute behind first place finisher U.S. Rowing. The finish is eight spots better than the Cougars' performance last year at the Head of the Charles.

WSU's pace at the end helped it to itsfinish. The crew was 16th at the first marker, 10th at the second, then slipped back two places at the third checkpoint, but resurged to cross the finish line in the top ten.

"We were really right there in the mix with some of the best schools in the country," LaRiviere said.

The varsity eight lineup of Kelly O'Brien (coxswain), Sarah Waterfield (stroke), Kasia Bloch, Karin Brevick, Laura Griffin, Sarah Lende, Amber McKnight, Elizabeth Rand, and Tiana Rodriquez competed against seven of the top 10 finishers at last season's NCAA Championships, 11 crews ranked in the final Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/US Rowing poll of the 2005 spring season, and several nationally recognized club crews.

The varsity eight crew clocked in ahead of six programs ranked in the final Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/U.S. Rowing poll of spring: Tennessee, Boston, Minnesota, Iowa, Harvard and Syracuse.

According to the event's website the Head of the Charles Regatta is the world's largest two-day rowing event. The races welcome 7,000 competitors from 500 top tier college and club teams and also attract over 300,000 visitors and spectators.

For complete results of the Head of the Charles, visit the event website at www.hocr.org.

The Cougars will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 29, when they return home to host the Head of the Snake at Wawawai Landing in Pullman.

Head of the Charles
Boston
Oct. 23, 2004

Championship Eights:

1. U.S. Rowing, 16:34.633; 2. Princeton 16:50.059; 3. London Training Center, 16:56.389; 4. Virginia, 17:00.156; 5. Princeton Training Center, 17:03.440; 6. Yale, 17:05.374; 7. Michigan, 17:25.970; 8. Northeastern, 17:27.625; 9. Brown, 17:29.745; 10. Washington State University, 17:30.866.

--www.wsucougars.com--