Pirates claim Collins Cup for fifth year in a row
NEWPORT BEACH -- For the fifth straight year, the Orange Coast College women's crew will need to find trophy space for the Collins Cup as the Pirates topped UC Irvine on Saturday in their annual dual clash on the Newport Harbor.
The Pirates and Anteaters took each other on with nearly ideal racing conditions. Coast went a perfect 2-for-2, winning the Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 8 races to maintain ownership of the Collins Cup.
In the Second Varsity 8 race, OCC's Christina Kilby, Milan Goldner, Claire Taylor, Jessica Engelbert, Dian Tzegaebe, Sierra Marzalek, Holli Ulicki, Mikayla Jacobi and Sydney Miller (coxswain), got a fast start against the UCI boat and cruised to an 18-second victory, finishing the 2,000-meter race with a time of 7 minutes, 28.8 seconds, while UCI came in with a time of 7:46.6.
Finally, in the Varsity 8 grand final, both boats battled each other in a close race throughout before the Pirates kicked it into an extra gear and pulled away in the final 500 meters with a winning time of 6:57.2, eight seconds ahead of the Anteaters (7:05.6). OCC's Varsity 8 consisted of Madison Hank, Ashley DeClerck, Ashleigh Adner, Kirsten Gyorgy, Abby Morgan, Claireliese Kennedy, Maya Takeuchi, Kala Warren and Sophie Blair (coxswain).
Coast will have some time off before preparing for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, set for Friday, April 28 in Sacramento, beginning at 7 a.m.
