Cougar Rowing Travels West to Close Fall Competition: The Washington State University women's rowing team will compete in the final regatta of the fall season traveling to Seattle for the Head of the Lake, one of the largest fall regattas on the West Coast, Sunday Nov. 8 beginning at 8 a.m.
The 2015 Head of the Lake: Lake Washington Rowing Club hosts the 2015 Head of the Lake regatta...boats will compete in a unique three-mile race that takes place in both Lake Union and Lake Washington...the race starts in Lake Union, passes through the Montlake Cut and finishes outside the Conibear Shellhouse at Lake Washington...Washington State will face crews from the Washington, Gonzaga, Seattle, Utah, British Columbia, Western Washington, Pacific Lutheran, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland, Portland State, San Diego, Simon Frasier, Fraser Valley, the Lake Washington Rowing Club, Anchorage Rowing Association, Cambridge Boat Club and the Vancouver Rowing Club...Head of the Lake is open to juniors, high school, collegiate, open, and masters crews.
Last Time at Head of the Lake: WSU notched a win in the women's collegiate third varsity eight race with a time of 18:57.07...the crew out-stroked Pac-12 rival Washington by eight seconds…both the varsity eight (18:09.7) and second varsity eight (18:32.90) finished second in their respective races.
WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere on Head of the Lake: “It is always the culmination of our fall season and it is going to be great to race against Pac-12 competition. Our goal is to always put out our best on that particular day. The head of the Lake really gets you ready to race because the Pac-12 is so strong. This is the first time Oregon State returns to race at the Head of the Lake in a few years, as well. I am super excited to get back out there and see where we stand. We need to have a really good event to get ourselves motivated for the winter.”
WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere on the Progress this Fall: “The team is working very hard. This time of year, in our program, it is all about getting a lot of miles and strokes in. We do not do a lot of race prep in the fall. The fall season is all about getting as fit as possible. A lot of people are unfamiliar with the racing distance for the spring season. In the spring we race 2,000 meters and in the fall we will race a 5K. Racing in the fall has turns and a potential for home course advantage. There are a whole bunch of variables that exist on race day in the fall that do not exist in the spring season.”
Last Time on the Water: The WSU varsity four A boat won the varsity four event, recording a time of 18:45…the Cougars' time was eight seconds faster than Gonzaga's A boat with a time of 18:53…WSU's varsity four B recorded the fourth fastest time at 19:13, just nine seconds off Gonzaga's varsity four B (19:04) boat…WSU's varsity four C recorded a time of 19:20…the Cougars' varsity four D recorded a time of 20:13, while the varsity four E finished with a time of 21:30 to round out the flight…WSU's third varsity eight competed against Gonzaga's second and third varsity eights, finishing with a time of 18:52…the Cougars placed second behind Gonzaga's second varsity eight (17:59), while they out-stroked Gonzaga's third varsity eight (19:10)…Washington State launched three novice eights as well…WSU's novice eight crew finished second with a time of 22:11…the novice eight B (24:16) and novice eight C (26:27) boats both made their fall debuts for the Cougars.
Coaching Staff: Jane LaRiviere begins her 14th year as head coach of the WSU women's rowing program...the Cougars have raced in nine NCAA Championships under LaRiviere...she is joined by associate head coach Josh Adam, novice coach Karl Huhta and graduate assistant coach Brandon Campbell...Adam is in his sixth year after coaching his prior two years at Indiana...Huhta is in his second year with the Cougars and first as the novice coach...Campbell enters his first year as an graduate assistant coach.
Next up for the Cougars: The Cougars will travel to Silver Lake, Wash., to open the spring season, March 25 against Gonzaga.