Irvine Rowing Finishes the Fall Racing Season
Jan. 13, 2009
The Irvine women have completed a fall season full of hard work and lots of racing. The varsity women started the fall season at the Head of the Marina on November 1st. The anteaters competed in the collegiate four, collegiate lightweight four and collegiate 8 races. The following day, November 2nd, the entire anteater team competed in the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival. In the women's open 8 race the varsity women placed 14th and 18th out of 19 boats. The novice women raced one boat in the novice 8 race where they placed 20th out of 21 crews, with only 2 weeks of on the water training. The varsity women also competed in the women's open 4 where they placed 5th, 14th and 16th out of 17.
The anteater women traveled to Long Beach State where the varsity women raced Long Beach in a 9,000 meter race. The anteaters and the 49ers went back and forth with the anteaters taking the lead and keeping it at the end. The novice women raced three 1,000 meter pieces against Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara.
The fall racing season ended with Newport Sprints, a scrimmage consisting of four 1,250 meter pieces against Orange Coast College. The varsity women won 3 out of the 4 pieces showing great improvement from their Newport Autumn Rowing Festival results. The novice women fought and improved every piece and are anxious to scrimmage against Coast in the spring.
As the team gathers back to Irvine for winter double days the athletes are ready to work hard to make up for the late start of the quarter system. When asked about the varsity team Coach Carrie Chamberlain-Parsons responds, "I look forward to seeing the varsity girls get faster; only at the end of last quarter did they start to put the stroke together with attack,tenacity and finesse. We had a glimpse of boat speed but then it was time for winter break. I am excited to pick back up!" Novice coach Bridget Jacobson says "I can't wait to start the winter practices. For our walk on athletes this is the quarter where they really start learning how to row. This group of novices work really hard and enjoy doing it which is fun and exciting to coach!"
