The Non-Basketball Zag Tracks

I'm going to try my best to not mention Gonzaga basketball in this entire blog.  With the season nearly here, it's getting harder and harder not to get swept up in the hype that this year's team comes with.  It is probably the most busy time of the year for Gonzaga athletics as a whole however and TKR is dedicated to "everything Gonzaga" so here it goes.

-- The Gonzaga golf season is well underway and so far it has been touch and go.  The guys traveled across the country to Washington D.C. over the weekend to compete in today and tomorrow's Georgetown Intercollegiate men's golf tournament.  What was supposed to be a 54 hole tournament was shortened to 36 because of some inclement weather on the East coast.  The poor weather did not deter senior Michael Hansen who came out of the gate hot and shot a 1-over par round of 72 today.  His round was good enough to be tied in 8th place in the tournament  

Thanks in large part to Hansen's play, Gonzaga finds themselves in 8th place out of 14 teams.  The tournament will conclude with 18 more holes tomorrow morning.

-- Not much has gone right this season for the Gonzaga women's soccer team.  Just a few years removed from one of their best seasons in history, the ladies have fallen on hard times.  This continued on Sunday as the Zags dropped a heartbreaker to Loyola Marymount.  The game went into double-overtime and saw the Bulldogs fall in a 2-1 loss.  A four game scoreless streak was ended by Christi D'Agostino in the first half but LMU would score the next two goals to down Gonzaga.

The loss drops the ladies to 5-9-2 on the season and are still searching for their first conference win.  They will be touring California this coming week with games at St. Mary's and San Francisco.

-- In other news, the men and women's crew teams will be hosting their annual Alumni Weekend this coming weekend.  The weekend will be filled with plenty of social outings and will conclude with some racing on Sunday.  The crew teams have been some of the more consistent and outstanding teams at Gonzaga for some time and should be poised for another great season in 2008-09.

GU Rower named All-American

GU women's rower Hannah McClintock was named a CRCA(Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association) 2nd team All-American. McClintock, a junior, is only the second rower in GU history to be named a CRCA All-American. This caps off a tremendous season for McClintock, as she helped lead the team to their 11th WCC championship in 12 years. McClintock was also named CRCA All-West region 1st team, All-WIRA 1st team, and All-WCC this season.

Congratulations to Hannah and all the women rower's on another tremendous season, and hopefully McClintock can carry over this terrific form in to her senior season.

4 Zags earn CRCA Accolades

After another terrific rowing season, 4 Lady Zags received accolades for their fantastic performance both in the boat and in the classroom.

Junior Hanna McClintock highlighted the Zags CRCA (Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association) accolades, by being named to the All-West Region 1st team. She is the 3rd rower to be named to this team since 2004, and this will just add to the crowded list of awards that McClintock has received this year. McClintock also earned All-WCC honors and All-WIRA honors.

The other 3 Zags were awarded for their outstanding performance in the classroom. Senior's Julie Smetana and Kelly Steinhaus, along with junior Whitney Engle, were named to the All-Academic team. Congratulations to all the Zags on another fantastic season both in their sport and in the classroom.

Weekend Wrap-Up

School's out for summer but that does not mean that the Gonzaga baseball and women's crew teams are back home quite yet. Each team had some work to do this weekend before their time in the sun.

-The Gonzaga baseball team was looking to end their season with a sweep of Loyola Marymount to end their season today in Los Angeles. LMU was having none of it however, and defeated the Bulldogs in convincing fashion 11-1. This does not take away from the fantastic season the Zags had, racking up 30 wins for the second straight season and going .500 in the challenging WCC. The Lions scored three in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back as they ended Gonzaga's season on a sour note.
However, it was still a very successful season for many of the players and for the team as a whole. Gonzaga, for the first time in 26 years, totaled 30 wins in back-to-back seasons which is a huge accomplishment. Ryan Wiegand and Evan Wells had extremely successful seasons and will both be returning next year as seniors. There was also a bright spot on the mound as freshman Cody Martin set Gonzaga single season save record as well as entering his name in the record books in many other categories. The future is very bright for these young Zags, but the loss of nine seniors will hurt very much.

-The Women's Crew Team took part today in the Pac-10 Conference Championship in Sacramento, CA. The Zags entered four boats against some of the biggest competition in the nation and had a very respectable finish. The Zags Novice 8+ boat earned a fifth place finish, the Varsity 4+ boat earned a sixth place finish and the varsity 8+ and second varsity 8+ placed eight today. The Novice boat was used to having excellent fortune in the Pac-10 championship as the past two years they have taken first place but Cal dominated today. The University of Washington also had a good day as they won the varsity 4+.

Men and Women's crew successful at WIRA's

Both the Men and Women's crew teams put together strong performances in last weekend's WIRA championships.

The men were able to take home the silver medal in both the Varsity 8+ and the Novice 8+. The Junior Varsity 8+ was also able to bring home a bronze medal. By being the highest placed team in the Varsity 8+ competition, the Zags were also awarded the WCC championship, with San Diego finishing second. The Zags were also honord with 4 bulldogs being named the all WIRA teams. Joe Dudley, Scott McCoy and Warren North were selected to the 1st team, while Sean Haase was selected to the 2nd team. And for the second time in 4 years, head coach Dan Gehn was named WIRA coach of the year.

The women's team continued their remarkable season as they won the gold medal in both the Varsity 8+ and the Second Varsity 8+. They also took home the silver medal in both the Varsity 4+ and the Novice 8+. In an exciting finish in the Varisty 8+, the Zags squeaked out the victory over Western Washington University by less than a second. The women's remarkable performance was illustrated in the selection of 5 bulldogs to the All WIRA Teams. Hanna McClintock, Kelly Steinhaus, and Kelsey Koenig all made the 1st team, while Whitney Patrick and Emily Wilson were named to the 2nd team.

Congratulations to both teams on a very successful weekend, and a special congratulations to Dan Gehn on his selection as coach of the year.

Crewsin' Along

Many things have changed in the past twelve years. One thing which has yet to change is the dominance shown by Gonzaga's lady crew team. Prior to Friday, Gonzaga had won 10 of the last 11 WCC championships and was looking to extend this streak. Not only did they extend the streak, they completely dominated the competition by winning all three races by an average of 11 seconds.

Gonzaga accumulated 30 points in their victor, six points more than runner up San Diego.

This was not the only good piece of news that Gonzaga received. Their stunning performances earned them four all-conference selections. Kelsey Koenig, Hanna McClintock, Joan Aubry, and Kelly Steinhaus. Aubry also won Coxswain of the Year.

The next step for the lady Zags crew team is a date in the WIRA Championships in Sacramento, CA on Saturday and Sunday.

Women's Crew getting ready for WCC tournament

When people think of dominant athletics at Gonzaga, one's mind instantly jumps to the Gonzaga basketball team. But some people might be surprised to find that there is another dominant force on this campus....the women's crew team.

This weekend the team will head to Sacramento in search of their 11th WCC championship in the last 12 years. The only year the Zags lost out on the title was in 2006 when LMU was the surprise winner. The Zags reclaimed the championship last year, winning all 3 races by an average of 17 seconds

This same weekend, the team will also be competing in the WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association) championships. This will feature teams from the Pac-10, the WIRA, and the WCC. Last year, the Zags won two races and placed second in another at the WIRA.

Best of luck to the ladies, and hopefully they will extend their domination.