RESULTS

PORTLAND, Ore. - Lewis & Clark's Crew program raced in the Portland Fall Classic Sunday, posting some solid finishes and closing out their six-week fall season. The fall season at Lewis & Clark is a time for novices to learn the sport and the experienced athletes to develop technique and team cohesion in preparation for the spring championship season. Nevertheless, the Pioneer Crew posted some solid results.

Leading the way was the men's open four, finishing 3rd just behind a boat from Division 1 Oregon State University and almost a minute ahead of the next entry from Seattle University. An open boat from the Pocock Rowing Club won the event.

Also medaling was the women's open double, who finished 2nd behind a open entry from the New York Athletic Cub and bowed by a two-time olympic athlete. The Pioneer boat finished well ahead of an entry from Willamette University.

The Women's Open 8 faced a challenging event; both Oregon State and Willamette entered three eights and there were also entries from Pacific Lutheran and Seattle University. Finishing eighth, the Pioneers were out of the hardware but pleased with their performance.

"It's a reflection of the experience we have right now." Head Coach Sam Taylor said, "We have three true novice athletes in the boat with six weeks of rowing under their belts, as well as several rising novice in the crew. We've been doing work based on learning the stroke, developing our technique, and establishing our base for spring-- I was very pleased with how they rowed and although the results may not show it, this bodes very well for spring season."

The Pioneers also fielded two novice boats, crews that learned to row this fall. The Women's Novice 8 finished fourth of six boats, while the Men's Novice 4 finished third of three crews in one of the most competitive events of the day-- over 2800 meters all crews were within thirteen seconds.

Pioneer Crew now transitions into independent winter training, with practice resuming February 3rd. The spring season will open with a scrimmage at Willamette University March 13th and with the Daffodil Cup on March 27th. "I like where we are right now", Coach Taylor said, "There's a great spirit, great attitude, and some high ambition in the group. I'm looking forward to starting up again and can't wait to see where we go from here."