Sac State rowing dominates 1999 season opener

Sac State's rowing team took the top seven spots in Saturday's collegiate open. Mike Hazlip/State Hornet

Last year, the Sac State women's rowing team was the best the school had ever seen. This year might be different.

While the Hornets finished third in last year's Pacific Coast Rowing Championship, coach Bill Zack said he expects an even-better finish from this year's squad.

“This could be the largest, deepest and fastest team we've ever had here,” Zack said. “We have the best quality of returners in the history of the team.”

To start the new season, the Hornets hosted the Golden State Indoor Rowing Championships Saturday at the CSUS Aquatic Center. The Hornet women took the top seven positions in the women's collegiate open event, in which women of any size row for 2,000 meters.

The Hornets' Tammy Forbes set a new school record with her winning time of 7:07.3 in the open event, beating the old record of 7:09.9 held by Mieke Boynton. The rest of the Hornets were not far behind. Karen Cope took second with a 7:08.4 time, Heather Watson took third with 7:09 and last year's open-weight champion, Abigail Smyth, finished fourth with a time of 7:10.6. Team captain Christina Clinton won 21-competitor lightweight division with her time of 7:43.8.

For the teams in the Indoor Championship, bragging rights and reputation were on the line. According to Zack, results from the event are posted on a Web site (www.truesport.com) for nationwide competitors to see.

“We are definitely trying to send a statement to other schools,” Zack said. “They really should be scared of us.”

The competitors rowed inside an Aquatic Center warehouse. Rowers from Sac State, Humboldt State, Mills College, California Maritime Academy and Santa Clara University competed not on their boats but on rowing machines called ergometers. The ergometers were placed side by side and rower's performances were timed for the 2,000-meter events. As the teams' rowers competed, television monitors linked to the machines simulated the placement of each rower as if they were competing in boats.

With last year's success continuing into 1999, the team's goals include beating Stanford and being asked to the NCAA National Championships in May.

“We should be able to beat Stanford this year and put ourselves in the league of schools like Berkeley,” junior coxswain Becky Devcic said. “We are definitely going to exceed everything we did last year.”

The Hornets of 1998 were not invited to the NCAA National Championships.

“We were on the bubble last year and probably should have been selected over a couple of teams that went,” Zack said. “Our sport still has an Ivy League bias.”

This year's championships are being hosted by the Hornets at Lake Natoma on May 28 to 30.

The next women's rowing event is on March 6 at the CSUS Aquatic Center against Mills College. Before the event, a boat will be christened with the name of Cassandra Cunningham. Cunningham, a former Sac State rower, won the silver medal at the World rowing championships in 1998, sixth place at the same championships in 1997 and is a five-time national champion.

“She is the best rower to ever come out of Sac State,” Zack said.