BURNABY, B.C. – The Washington State women's rowing team completed its first day of the season, participating in the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships at Burnaby Lake, Saturday, Oct. 7. The Cougars raced against the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and University of Victoria, qualifying three varsity pairs into the final and all four JV pairs. Elle Kadir sculled a single in the women's JV race, clinching second with a time of 8:52.76.
 
In the first event of the morning, senior Ilaria Macchi stroked the varsity B pair to a top finish with a time of 7:53.88 in the opening heat, advancing to the pairs final. WSU's varsity C pair, stroked by junior Amy Patten clocked a time of 8:18.17 to finish third in the heat and earn a provisional time into the final.
 
The Cougars' A and D varsity pairs raced in the second heat of the day. In her return to British Columbia, Eliza Dawson led the A boat with the second-fastest time out of the pair heats, clocking a 7:57.78 and earning placement into the pairs final. Stroking the final varsity pair of the day, sophomore Jaeve Proberts guided the duo to a 8:18.46 finish.
 
In the varsity pairs final, two of the Cougar boats finished under eight minutes. WSU's B pair finished third at 7:48.51, followed by the A pair at 7:51.34. WSU's C shell finished in 8:14.94 to conclude varsity pairs action.
 
The Cougars sent four pairs on the water for the JV races, all earning provisional times to make the JV pairs final. In the opening heat, WSU's JV C pair finished first with a time of 8:01.78 with the JV D boat just behind in second at 8:13.70. In the second heat, the Wazzu JV A, stroked by Makayla Tuley, clinched the top time at 8:17.16 with the JV C pair just three seconds behind at 8:20.34.
 
In the JV pairs final, the JV C, stroked by Hannah Elliott, took first place in a time of 8:06.07. The Cougs' JV B pair, with Izabela Janecek in the stern, finished third in 8:13.20. The JV A finished fifth in 8:14.42, followed by the JV D at 8:36.25.
 
Washington State concluded the day with big boats, racing a varsity eight and JV eight. In the varsity eight, the Cougars finished second, just behind UBC in a close race. Senior Ilaria Macchi stroked the boat to a 6:47.04 finish, coxed by fellow senior Ainsley Tiernan.
 
In the JV race, Tuley sat stern, stroking the eight to a second- place finish in 6:59.45 with Ella Greenslade steering from the coxswain's seat. The Cougs finished two seconds back from UBC across the line.
 
Washington State returns to the water tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 8 for the 12th Annual Burnaby Small Boat Invitational. It will be the second-straight year the Cougars compete at the regatta, with pairs and single sculls in a 4-kilometer time-trailed race. Races for the singles begin at 9 a.m. PT, while the pairs races take place at 10:15 a.m. PT.
 
Fans can follow all the action at the Burnaby Small Boat Invitational at RegattaCentral.com. For more information on the Washington State rowing team, follow @WSUCougarRowing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
 
Varsity Pair Lineups
2- A (F. Elliott/Dawson)
2- B (Snow/Macchi)
2- C (Schneider/Patten)
2- D (Steltman/Proberts)
 
JV Pair Lineups
2- A (Tuley/Jachymek)
2- B (Janecek/Johnson)
2- C (Wick/H. Elliott)
2- D (Anderson/Curtright)
 
Varsity 8 Lineup
1 Proberts
2 Steltman
3 Snow
4 Schneider
5 Patten
6 F. Elliott
7 Dawson
8 Macchi
C Tiernan
 
JV 8 Lineup
1 Johnson
2 Anderson
3 Horrigan
4 H. Elliott
5 Wick
6 Janecek
7 Jachymek
8 Tuley
C Greensglade