NW Briefs: Two UW crews capture titles at IRA finals

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — The Washington freshman eight crew won the gold medal Saturday, and the Huskies captured their fifth consecutive national championship in four-oared competition at the final day of the men's Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) championships on the Cooper River.

The two victorious boats continued a streak that has seen at least one Washington crew win a national title during each of the last six years.

"I was certainly glad to see the four and the freshmen win, that was significant," Huskies coach Bob Ernst said. "I don't think the jayvees had a particularly good row today. The varsity, that was a tremendous race all the way down. I'm really proud of all the guys. They certainly rose to the occasion this weekend, and they had a pretty impressive outing."

The Huskies finished fifth in the varsity eight grand final that was won by Pac-10 champion California with a time of 5 minutes, 37.71-seconds. Princeton was second in 5:39.66 and Brown was third in 5:40.92.

Harvard, the winner of the last three IRA titles, edged UW for fourth place. The Crimson's time of 5:41.96 was less than half a second faster than the Huskies' 5:42.44.

UW's top crew registered the second-best time during each of the first two days of racing. Despite their No. 7 seed, the Huskies' expectations were raised by close battles with top-two seeds California and Princeton in the heat and semifinal races.

"It's kind of a weird feeling that we're stuck in because we came into IRAs and we did a lot better than we expected," said junior coxswain Micah Perrin, a Meadowdale High graduate. "And so, kind of riding that wave we came out hoping for high things today. I'm not going to say we didn't have our best day today, but there are a lot of fast crews out there."

Washington had its two-year run as second varsity eight champion stopped when Harvard took control with a strong move midway through the 2,000-meter race.

The Huskies and Yale set the pace early, but were overtaken by the Crimson crew that cruised to a near boat-length win.

The winning time in the second varsity grand final was Harvard's 5:44.11 and Yale was second in 5:47.79. Wisconsin had a third-place time of 5:52.21, passing the Huskies in the final 10 strokes. The Huskies finished in 5:54.21.

Washington placed third in the overall team standings with 193 points. California took home the Ten Eyck Trophy after topping the team standings with 196 points, one point ahead of Harvard.

Meanwhile, the Gonzaga men capped the season with a fourth-place finish in the Grand Final of the IRA National Championships. The Bulldogs' varsity four finished fourth in the nation.

Notes

• Tricia Turton of Skyway lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Mary Jo Sanders (21-0) for the Women's International Boxing Association 154-pound world championship. Turton (8-1) suffered her first loss in front of 8,000 at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. Scoring from all three cards was 100-90. "I am very proud of her, more proud of her tonight than all of her wins," said co-manager Sam DiTusa. "She's going to get a short rest, then she'll fight again in July. She came out of it unscathed."

• Western Washington guard/forward Grant Dykstra, a senior from Everson who was a consensus All-American and the 2006 V Foundation Comeback Award winner, has been named the school's Male Athlete of the Year.

The Vikings' Female Athlete of the Year is women's golfer Katja Trygg, a senior from Bainbridge Island who earned first-team All-America honors for the second straight year and placed fifth in medalist play at nationals.

• About 144 rhythmic gymnasts with about 40 club teams from around the country will conclude the Junior Olympic Championships at Edmonds Community College today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Lipscomb University signed Jason Hopkins, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound center from Edmonds, to play men's basketball. Hopkins has played the past two seasons for Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz. He was a two-time All-WesCo pick at Edmonds-Woodway High.

Compiled from college sports-information departments and other sources.