VANCOUVER, Wash.- The Boxers hosted and competed at the Northwest Conference Championships this weekend and battled moderate conditions and fierce competition. The conditions offered a light tailwind (<5mph) in="" during="" the="" 8's="" races="" and="" then="" turning="" into="" a="" slight="" tail="" cross=""><9mph) for="" the="" 4's="" in="" the="" later="" morning="" and="" about="" 50="" deg="" and="" misty="" rain="" all="">


Varsity Coxswain, Captain, and senior, Morgan Hansen received the All-Conference Award for a fantastic execution over this spring season. Head Coach Charlotte Copp says this about Morgan. "This whole year Morgan has stepped up into the captain role per toy balancing our community and desire for training and speed. She has gone above an beyond to support her teammates on and off the water. When she volunteered to cox at the beginning of the spring when we had lost our coxswains, I could have never imagined how successful this seat change could be. Morgan has dug deep into the essence and complexities of the sport of rowing, and I cant wait to see what she does next in her life."


The boxers raced in the 1st Varsity 8 at 9:30 coming in 4th out of 4, and under 30" away from the 3rd place finisher with a time of 8:01.56. "This spring we have had to rely on gaining racing experience at practice instead of in competitions. The schedule this year really didn't lineup the way I wanted, but we had to work with the cards we were dealt. With a focus within the bot this Varsity 8 raced exactly how they have been preforming at practice and its great to see them close the gap between the first two finishers compared to the beginning of the season," says Copp.

The JV4 lineup was made out of two novice rowers, two varsity rowers, and our novice coxswain. The JV4 came in 5th out of 5 with a time of 9:49.22. There were steering issues, technical difficulties, some crabs that were caught, but the the boat redeemed themselves with a smoother race in the Varsity 4 event.

The Varsity 4 event was the highlight of the day for the whole team and staff. The Pacific University V4 B boat had a smooth race and had a strong first 1000m and finished 5th out of 5 with a time of 9:36.83. The Pacific V4 A boat had a fantastic race and had to fight the whole way down the course, finishing 3rd with a time of 8:28.92. Only 2 seconds off of the 1st place boat and 1 second off of the 2nd place boat. Copp says, "The best thing I could give to this growing and devolving team is a dogfight down the course. This crew showed that with strong execution and technique, they can be competitive, and they walked off the water understanding why rowing is a special sport."

"I'm really proud of what this team can accomplish on and off the water and I think the results today has set up the future of this team really well. I am looking forward to our last race at Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships (WIRA) in Sacramento this weekend and I think these races will end the season on a high note."

Lineups
Varsity 8: (C) Morgan Hansen, (S) Chloe Williams, Brooke Fritzler, Makenna Sawyer, First Moon Venecia, Alex Kerstetter, Alexis Perez, Savannah Ashbaugh, (B) Abigail Boyer.

JV4: (C) Kayla Naito, (S) Lanie Lischke, Morgan Hansen, Alexis Perez, (B) Angelia Dominguez

V4 B: (C) Kat Lewis, (S) Lanie Lischke, First Moon Venecia, Alex Kerstetter, (B) Angelina Dominguez 

V4 A: (C) Morgan Hansen, (S) Chloe Williams, Brooke Fritzler, Makenna Sawyer, (B) Abigail Boyer