Coxwain Breanne Hart watches on as stroke Mieke Boynton and the rest of the varsity-eight squad compete against Cincinatti. Photo by Robert Soliman/State Hornet [Click to enlarge]

The Sacramento State women’s rowing team was dealt its second varsity-eight, dual-meet loss of the season, as the University of Cincinnati defeated the Hornets by 4.4 seconds Saturday at the CSUS Aquatic Center.

The loss put the Hornets record at 7-2 in dual meets this season.

Sac State finished the 2,000-meter course with a time of 7 minutes, 5.4 seconds, while the Bearcats finished with a winning time of 7:01.

"We had a really good start, got an early lead, and held the lead until the 1,000-meter mark," Hornet coach Bill Zack said. "(Cincinnati) then gradually opened up a one length lead to finish the race."

Although the Hornets lost, Zack was pleased with their performance.

"Cincinnati has a real good boat. They finished second last weekend at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association over many quality crews," Zack said.

The Hornet’s varsity-eight is seeded No. 3 for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships which takes place this weekend.

Gonzaga holds the No.1 seed, Loyola Marymount University No. 2, University of California, Davis No. 4, California State University, San Diego No. 5 and the University of San Diego the final seed, No. 6.

"We used Saturday’s race as our last race rehearsal before our conference championships," Zack said. " We rowed well and hard and lost to a good school, and we are on track for next weekend."

In the second varsity-eight competition, Sac State (7:22.2) passed the Bearcats (7.23.0) at the conclusion of the race to go on for the victory.

"We also got off to an early lead here," Zack said. "But, Cincinnati came back and had about a three-seat lead with 500 meters to go.

"We had the better sprint to win the race."

Hannah Metzger, a freshman in her first year of rowing, was in the bow seat and was applauded by her coach for her effort.

In the novice-eight, the Hornets blew by the completion with an easy victory over the Bearcats.

The Hornets finished with a time of 7:44.0, while the Bearcats finished with a time of 8:01.5.

Finally, Cincinnati won the varsity-four with a winning time of 8:28.9.

Sac State finished second with a mark of 8:35.4.

The Hornets return to the water this weekend to compete in the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. The championships will be held at the CSUS Aquatic Center. WIRA qualifying heats are Saturday morning, with consolation finals later that afternoon.

The finals are scheduled to be held Sunday morning. The Hornets’ varsity-eight will be seeking its third-consecutive WIRA championship.

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