March 30, 2002

WILMINGTON, Calif. - The USC women's rowing team defeated UCLA, 5-2, in the first-ever dual race between these two rival schools on Saturday morning at the USC Boathouse in the Port of Los Angeles. In front of 100-plus fans on a hazy morning, the Women of Troy won the Varsity Eight and JV Eight races to capture the victory.

With the win, the Trojans earn the five points awarded for the Lexus Gauntlet -- a season-long competition between USC and UCLA. This unique program awards points for the winner of each Bruin-Trojan head-to-head athletic contest throughout the year. The Lexus Gauntlet trophy will be awarded to the school with the most points at year's end. USC now leads 52.5-37.5.

USC and UCLA each raced a Varsity Eight, JV Eight, Varsity Four and Novice Eight boat and the race winner was determined by a point system similar to the one used at the Pac-10 Championships. Three points was awarded to the Varsity Eight winner, two to the JV Eight and one apiece to the winners of the Varsity Fours and Novice Eights.

The Bruins started by winning the first two races of the morning - the Varsity Four and Novice Eight - to capture the first two points. But USC waited patiently for its two strongest races in which the Women of Troy won decisively.

USC's JV8 crossed the finish line nearly two boat lengths ahead of UCLA with a time of 7:11.7. The Bruins finished in 7:25.6. In the final race, the Trojans' Varsity Eight left no room for error, pulling ahead quickly in the first 1,000 meters. USC completed the course 35-seconds ahead (6:36.0) of UCLA (7:11.9).

Following are complete race results:

Varsity Eight (3 points)
(1) USC - 6:36.0
(2) UCLA - 7:11.9

USC Varsity Eight: Ivelina Boteva, Zoë Hoskins, Jeanne De Lapoyade, Katrin Gleie, Marketa Vochoskova, Katie Sadalski, Andrea Korom, Andria Shook, (cox) Jessica Patterson.

UCLA Varsity Eight: Jennifer Carey-Ruiz, Irene Condella, Heather McCluskey, Katrina Craig, Jamila Howard, Michelle Adams, Stefanie Kostich, Kathy Kennedy, (cox) Kate Harbour.

JV Eight (2 points)
(1) USC - 7:11.7
(2) UCLA - 7:25.6

Novice Eight (1 point)
(1) UCLA - 7:20.4
(2) USC "A" - 7:27.0
(3) USC "B" - 8:02.6

Varsity Four (1 point)
(1) UCLA - 8:34.8
(2) USC - 8:46.9