April 10, 2006

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU varsity boats raced to impressive victories and the Lions picked up five wins in racing action against UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State at Ballona Creek on Sunday. The women's varsity 8, JV 8 and varsity/novice 4 all picked up wins, and the men's varsity 8 and novice 4 also were victorious.

Things started with a strong results for the Lions in the first race of the day. The women's novice 4 cruised to a 19 second victory over second place Long Beach State, finishing at 7:47.6 while 49ers finished at 8:06.7. The boat consisted of coxswain Amy Guion, stroke Sydney Johnson, Jen Topor, Lindsay Vitort and bow Whitney Sholl.

The closest race of the day came in the second race as the Lion JV 8 took on UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos edged the Lions by 0.2 seconds, finishing at 6:18.1 while LMU finished at 6:18.3. The LMU JV 8 members were coxswain Lisa Mercurio, stroke Adam Baker, Mark Stellner, Jordan Stone, Hamilton Hiatt, Scott Henderson, Kevin Druffel-Rodriguez, Brandon Sorbom and bow Jordan Perez.

LMU's women's JV8 got the Lions back in the win column, pulling to an 11 second victory over the USC 3rd varsity/novice and UCSB. LMU finished with a time of 6:54.7, while USC finished at 7:05.9 and the Gauchos were at 7:34.0. LMU's second varsity 8 boat consisted of coxswain Mona Sumibcay, stroke Kathryn Maloney, Bettina Messerli, Marni Hietbrink, Janelle Brunette, Meggan Brunette, Brooke Thomas, Jen Glassman and bow Larissa Meltz.

The men's varsity 8 got back to its winning ways with an 11 second victory over UC Santa Barbara in the fourth race of the day. The Lions are still undefeated in dual race competition. LMU rowed to a time of 5:53.3 while the Gauchos finished with a time of 6:04.6. LMU's men's varsity 8 boat included coxswain Vanessa Garrett, stroke Jim Puccetti, Landon Storaasli, Tim Santy, Warren Anderson, Brannon Wynn, Perkin DiGrazia, Scott Wike and bow David Cronin.

LMU's women's varsity 8 made it three straight Lion victories, defeating second place UCSB by six seconds. The Lions finished at 6:52.8, while the Gauchos rowed to a 6:58.6, and third place Long Beach State finished at 7:06.0. The varsity 8 consisted of coxswain Jennifer Guess, stroke Liz Stewart, Carla Conway, Kristi Adams, Alli Mitrovich, Courtney Cox, Christina Duechle, Erin Ludwig and bow Jill Austin.

In another close race, UC Santa Barbara edged LMU in the women's novice 8 race. The Gauchos defeated LMU by just 0.3 seconds, finishing with a time of 7:30.5 to LMU's time of 7:30.8. The novice 8 included coxswain Amy Guion, stroke Jen Topor, Sydney Johnson, Whitney Sholl, Lindsay Vitort, Brooke LeJeune, Andrea Belluz, Jen Woo and bow Courtney Bannerman.

LMU's men's novice 4 gave the Lions a lift with a 20 second victory over UCSB. The novice 4 boat of coxswain Randy Hellman, Brian Slaught, Hansen Perkins, William Lewis and Phillip Massari rowed to a time of 7:51.4, easily beating UCSB's time of 8:11.1

The timing of the day allowed for some participants to compete in multiple events. The final race, the men's varsity 4, included LMU athletes who had competed in the men's JV8 boat earlier in the day. A pair of UCSB boats defeated LMU in the final event on Sunday. LMU's varsity 4 consisted of coxswain Lisa Mercurio, stroke Adam Baker, Mark Stellner, Scott Henderson and bow Kevin Druffel-Rodriguez.

The Lions will take next weekend off to prepare for their next races. The men will take on USC at Ballona Creek on Saturday, April 22nd at 9:00am. The women will host the Miller Cup Regatta on Sunday, April 22nd at 9:00am in the final LMU event at Ballona Creek this season.

- GO LIONS! -