CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The UC San Diego women's rowing team was strong across the board as it captured the Patty Wyatt Cup this morning, defeating San Diego State in both the Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 races as the Tritons opened their Division I era. The races took place at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, with optimal racing conditions on Otay Lake.
 
In the Varsity 8 race, UC San Diego crossed the finish line with a time of 6:56.6 to earn first place. The Tritons finished over 10 seconds ahead of the Aztecs, who posted a time of 7:06.8.
 
The Tritons entered three boats in the Varsity 4 race, and all three UC San Diego boats came in ahead of San Diego State. UCSD A recorded a time of 7:50.9 for the top slot. UCSD B (8:04.0) and UCSD C (8:06.4) finished within three seconds of each other, placing second and third, respectively. San Diego State took fourth, turning in a mark of 8:24.2.
 
With the outcome, UC San Diego claimed the Patty Wyatt Perpetual Trophy. The Aztecs and Tritons have gone head-to-head for the current incarnation of the trophy since 2017. This is the first time that UC San Diego has earned the trophy.
 
In addition to the competition being UC San Diego's first of its' Division I era and its first time claiming the Patty Wyatt Perpetual Trophy, it was notable for other reasons. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 685 days have passed between the Tritons' most recent official spring competition and today's races. Additionally, this is the final year of the San Diego State women's rowing program. San Diego State Athletics announced on Nov. 20, 2020 that the program would be discontinued at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.
 
RESULTS
Varsity 8:
UCSD- 6:56.6
SDSU- 7:06.8
 
Varsity 4:
UCSD A: 7:50.9
UCSD B: 8:04.0
UCSD C: 8:06.4
SDSU: 8:24.2
 
QUOTABLE
"We had a great day for many reasons- perfect racing conditions, well-executed race plans, and obviously picking up some wins is pretty exciting," said Head Coach Colin Truex. "However, it has been almost two years since our last official 2K event, so the biggest success of the day was just being able to get back out there and race. Our team has really come together in these last few weeks and seeing them race so aggressively and have success makes the challenges of this COVID year seem a little less overwhelming. I'm tremendously proud of them and look forward to seeing how we continue to gain speed during the final few weeks of our season.
 
"I must thank SDSU for being such a great rival, competitor, and friend program over these last several years as both of our teams pushed for more and more speed," Truex added. "It's a real shame that their program has been discontinued and I applaud the athletes in their program that have been resilient and are pushing through what certainly must be an incredibly difficult time. I wish them great luck over these next few weeks and look forward lining up with them again on May 7."
 
LINEUPS
Varsity 8:
Juni Kim (cox), Erika Rohloff, Natalie Norstad, Sabrina Koldinger, Teresa Taylor, Hailey Caldwell-Meurer, Sophia Gordon, Emme Silverman, Taylor Iantosca
 
Unnamed 4: (UCSD A)
Maile Heyer (cox), Jamie Press, Sierra Byrne, Kara Clancy, Kiana Killian
 
Invictus 4: (UCSD B)
Bianca Tung (cox), Sydney Colburn, Megan Myre, Laura Kemble, Jade Vasquez
 
Jen Dutton 4: (UCSD C)
Laurel Feldner (cox), Genevieve Cassidy, Kaelin Davis, Loryn Young, Elizabeth Whitehead 
 
PATTY WYATT PERPETUAL TROPHY WINNERS
2021- UC San Diego
2020- Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019- San Diego State
2018- San Diego State
2017- San Diego State
 
UP NEXT
For the Tritons' next scheduled competition, they will head to Lake Natoma on May 1 to take on Sacramento State.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
 
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program.  Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene.  Athletes, coaches and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA and Big West Conference guidelines and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.