Feb. 29, 2008

The 2008 traditional crew season gets underway this Sunday with the annual Parker Cup at Lido Channel in Newport Beach. The entire LMU men's and women's teams will be in action with 10 races scheduled against San Diego State and UC Irvine.

Race Schedule
7:30 a.m. - Women's 2nd Novice 8 (SDSU, UCI)
7:45 a.m. - Women's Novice 8 (SDSU, UCI)
8:00 a.m. - Women's Varsity 4 (SDSU, UCI)
8:15 a.m. - Women's Varsity 8 (SDSU, UCI, LMU)
8:30 a.m. - Men's Varsity 8 (SDSU, UCI, LMU)
8:45 a.m. - Men's Novice 4 (SDSU, UCI, UCI)
9:00 a.m. - Women's 2nd Varsity 8 (SDSU, LMU)
9:15 a.m. - Men's Novice 8 (UCI, LMU)
9:30 a.m. - Women's Lightweight 8 (UCI, LMU)
9:45 a.m. - Men's Varsity 4 (SDSU, UCI, LMU)

Spectators can view races from the Orange Coast College or Chapman University boathouse, located at 1801 West Pacific Coast Highway. Parking can be found in the public lot at 2400 PCH, or on the street. Teams will stage and launch from the UC Irvine boathouse.

About the Parker Cup
Competed in some form since the mid-1980s, the Parker Cup pits LMU against San Diego State and UC Irvine in a morning's worth of races to get the spring season underway. The actual "Parker Cup" is awarded to the top finisher in the men's varsity 8. LMU has won the last two Parker Cups.

"I can see that the guys are anxious to compete and the Parker Cup always ends up yielding some really solid racing between all of the crews," Men's Varsity Coach Brooks Jones said. "We'll see if the guys are able to lay down a solid performance that we can use as a platform for the rest of the racing season."

Season Outlook
The 2008 season should be an exciting one for LMU crew as the team returns a number of veteran rowers on both the men's and women's squads. Last season, the teams combined for four medals at the PCRC Championships and won three golds at the WIRA finals while the women's lightweight 8 made its first IRA National Championship appearance.

Women's Outlook
Two years after winning their first West Coast Conference championship, the Lions are eager to get back to the top of the podium after tying for second in 2007. LMU has a strong core of returning rowers, led by senior co-captains Marni Hietbrink and Alli Mitrovich and junior captain Sydney Johnson. Fellow seniors Jill Austin and coxswain Jenn Guess teamed with Mitrovich in the varsity 8 boat that won the WCC 2006 crown and a gold medal at the WIRA Championship Regatta. They are key members of the Varsity 8 along with other returners from the 2007 crew - senior Kathryn Holzberger, Hietbrink, Johnson, junior Becky Nolan, and sophomore Alexa Aftias.

A number of athletes will vie for the remaining spots in the V8 and ensure a strong 2V8 boat as well. They include seniors Stephanie Speer, Jenny Glassman, and Janelle Brunette, juniors Molly Stewart and Bettina Messerli, and sophomore Adrienne Lindstrom. Joining the fray is a strong group of freshman. They include Kathleen Foster, Brittany Teleng, Michelle Herrias, Sydney Swanson, and Bailey Heuer.

Austin has been making waves outside of LMU. She competed over the summer for the US National Team on the under-23 squad at the World Championships in Scotland, racing the lightweight women's double. In January, she rowed to individual glory by claiming her third consecutive gold medal at the Long Beach Erg Sprints. Her time beat the qualifying standard of 7:23, earning her a trip to the World Indoor Erging Championships in Boston last weekend. Matching up head-to-head against top competitors from around the world, Austin placed fifth overall and third amongst U.S. collegiate rowers.

The Lightweights return an experienced core group from the boat that placed ninth in the nation in 2007. They look to improve on their IRA third place Petite Final finish. Calling the race from the coxswain seat is senior Candice Matheny. She sees a familiar face in stroke seat in senior Kathryn Maloney. Also returning from the 2007 crew are Austin, seniors Courtney Bannerman and Larissa Meltz. Sophomore Tayla Courtney returns, while classmates Alex Lee and Jacque Yang challenge for a seat as well. Mary Foster and Liz LaLonde are accomplished freshman who will make an immediate impact. Fresh faces for the lighties include Jacque Yang, Lauren Ruebsamen, Tiffany Martinez, Rachel Nelson, and Megan Healy.

First years Claire Martinez and Kayla Pietruszka will be counted upon in the critical leadership role of coxswain. Both have shown the capacity to take charge and help lead the crews to victory.

Men's Outlook
The LMU men's team has a strong returning core led by seniors David Cronin, Scott Wike, Landon Storaasli, Mark Stellner, and coxswain Whitney Powell. Cronin and Wike take to the water having won the PCRC and WIRA pairs championships in 2007, bettering 12 other crews at WIRA to clinch LMU's first men's pair title in 10 years. Like Austin, Storaasli had individual success at the Long Beach Sprints, claiming a silver medal to reach the podium for the third time in as many years.

All four seniors also anchor the varsity 8, joined again this year by 2007 V8 member sophomore Mike Wither. Looking to add punch to the varsity squad in the V8 or V4 are juniors Jordan Perez, Hanson Perkins, and Hamilton Hiatt. All three gained valuable racing experience last year in the four after starting together as novices in 2006. Sophomores Dominic Leone, Patrick Callan, John Landwehr, and coxswain Nick Llanos make the move from the novice to varsity crew, while classmate Miles Dobbyn returns to the varsity after racing with both the N8 and V4 boats in 2007.

The men's novice 8 had an early win already this season, rowing to victory at the Head of the Marina race in November. They showed strong cohesion for true first year rowers to outpace competitors for the victory. The novice squad includes: Kyle Hutchison, Garret Harmola, James Clinton, Kyle Wike, Chris Vaughn, Trevor Muretz, Garret Laos, Mike Hunter, Sean Freeberg, Bentley Eidsmo, and coxswains Brooke Buettner and Korbin Duley.

With the 2008 season underway, the Lions will face a number of challenges on the competitive west coast circuit. Next week, they go head-to-head with UCLA at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 8 at Ballona Creek. The Long Beach Spring Regatta and Windermere Regatta are also on tap for March before the season hits full-stride in April with the San Diego Crew Classic April 5-6. The championship season opens May 2-4 with the WCC, WIRA, and Association Championships in Sacramento, followed by the Pacific Coast Rowing Championship and Pacific-10 Conference Championships May 17-18.