March 28, 2010

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (SMU) - The SMU rowing team finished in the top-five in all four of its races over the weekend at the San Diego Crew Classic, posting a second-place finish in the Women's Collegiate Varsity Cal Cup.

The Mustangs' first varsity eight finished fifth in its heat race Saturday morning with a time of 7:30.02 to advance to the final on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs posted a 7:31.24 in the final, finishing behind first-place British Columbia's 7:24.90.

SMU was nearly four seconds ahead of third-place Occidental, which finished the course in a time of 7:35.02. Santa Clara and Central Oklahoma rounded out the top-five.

SMU's second varsity eight finished its heat race in 7:22.89, edging out San Diego by less than a second to finish third behind Virginia (7:02.80) and UCLA (7:07.23). San Diego was fourth with a 7:23.81, and Oklahoma rounded out the top-five with a 7:26.55.

With the top-three finish, the Mustangs advanced to the Women's Collegiate JV Petite final on Sunday morning, finishing fifth with a 7:13.20, less than two seconds behind third-place Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane posted a time of 7:11.34, and San Diego was fourth with a 7:12.34. Sacramento State took the win in a time of 7:03.80, edging UC Davis' time of 7:04.55.

The Mustangs' next competition is scheduled for April 17 and 18, when they compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn.