May 3, 2008

The No. 12 Women of Troy won the dual meet against No. 20 UCLA Saturday, May 3 in San Pedro, Calif by a points score of 6-1. Going into the last race of the day, USC held the points lead at 3 -1, but the meet came down to the varsity eight race because 3 points are given to the winner of that race. USC's varsity eight came out on top with a finishing time of 6:41.78. UCLA finished at 6:50.94.

The second varsity eight also won, getting the Women of Troy 2 points and finishing with a time of 6:52.34. UCLA came in at 6:59.1.

The varsity four earned the team 1 point with their victory over UCLA with a time of 7:41. 07. The Lady Bruins finished at 7:53.7.

In the novice eight race, UCLA outpaced USC with a time of 7:20.47. USC boat one came in with a time of 7:26.42 and boat two finished with a time of 8:01.63. This was the only race of the day that UCLA won.

With this victory USC seals up the Gauntlet Trophy, the season-long battle between Trojans and Bruins in all sports for the 2007-2008 year. The Women of Troy and UCLA began dual meets in 2002, and since then USC has won all seven dual meets up to date. Including the unofficial 2nd varsity four race, the Trojans have now won 18 of the 28 individual head to head races in the seven-year annual dual and also own a 7-0 record overall against the Bruins since the inception of the Lexus Gauntlet. The Trojan varsity eight have never lost a dual race to UCLA and the JV eight now holds a 5-2 record with this year's 7 second victory. USC now leads in varsity four races with a 4-3 record. UCLA's novice eight boat has won five out of the 6 meetings with the Women of Troy, with no novice race occurring in 2004.

The Women of Troy will look to take the momentum from this race into the Pac-10 Championships, which will occur on May 17-18 at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif.

Results:

Varsity Eight USC: 6:41.78 UCLA: 6:50.94

Second Varsity Eight USC: 6:52.34 UCLA: 6:59.1

Varsity Four USC : 7:41.07 UCLA: 7:53. 7

Novice Eight UCLA: 7:20.47 USC 1: 7:26.42 USC 2: 8:01.63

The Lineups for the races were as follows:

Varsity Eight Cox. Lisa Sabalvaro Stroke: Carin Andersson 7. Diana Ivanova 6. Ligita Kaviere 5. Magda Madziewicz 4. Liene Bertasjus 3. Dunja Pejcic 2. Tatiana Boldyreva Bow: Kinga Mikolajczyk

Second Varsity Eight Cox. Denise Kobashikawa Stroke: Ewelina Nowak 7. Bara Varakova 6. Phoebe Greenwood 5.Nana Gagastsovi 4. Lisa Greenwood 3. Andrea Vehovec 2. Robin Hextrum Bow: Lauren Hickey

Varsity Four Cox. Catherine Humenuk Stroke: Ania Specjalska 3. Shelley Koskovich, 2.Nichole Fischbach Bow: Cassie Richardson

Novice 1st Eight Cox Meg Heck Stroke Melanie Epling 7. Malia Paresa 6. Lauren Schaerer 5. Melissa Estep 4. Kate McFetridge 3. Laura Pomatto 2. Grace Himsness Bow Katherine O'Brien

Novice 2nd Eight Cox Christine Tanguay Stroke Betsy Koons 7. Malia Makowicki 6. Morgan Leighton 5. Kristen Mullen 4. Yewande Odetunde 3. Christina Bernardin 2. Nicole Chuang Bow Yannie Cheng