San Diego women’s rowing competed against the University of Southern California in a dual meet at the Port of Los Angeles on May 3. The Toreros entered five boats to race against the Trojans, who won three out of four head-to-head events.
The competition saw USC secure victories across all boats, with the closest contest occurring in the second varsity eight event. San Diego finished that race with a time of 6:55.75, while USC crossed first at 6:27.07. In the first varsity eight, coxed by Evy Melstrand and stroked by Annabelle Ruinet, San Diego posted a time of 6:31.4 compared to USC’s winning mark of 6:17.07.
In other races, San Diego’s first varsity four—coxed by Ayla Pacheco and stroked by Petra Phillips—finished in 7:28.81 behind USC’s time of 7:23.03. The second varsity four completed their race in 7:48.6 after USC clocked in at 7:39.2; San Diego’s third varsity four finished their event in 8:17.7.
After this meet, San Diego will take two weeks to prepare for postseason competition beginning with the West Coast Conference Championships scheduled for May 15 and May 16 on Lake Natoma near Sacramento.
Lineups for each boat included student-athletes such as Evy Melstrand (cox) and Annabelle Ruinet (stroke) for the first varsity eight; Hava Appleyard (cox) and Vivien Goretic (stroke) for the second varsity eight; Ayla Pacheco (cox) and Petra Phillips (stroke) for the first varsity four; Elle Karanian (cox) and Leah Martinez (stroke) for the second varsity four; Nadia Zayas Aguilar (cox) and Pravindi Gurusinghe (stroke) for the third varsity four.
