Cougar Rowing Opens Spring Season On Snake River: No. 12 Washington State rowing opens the 2017 season at home against regional rival, No. 18 Gonzaga, in the battle for the Fawley Cup at Wawawai Landing on the Snake River, Saturday, March 25, with racing beginning at 8:30 a.m.

The 2017 Fawley Cup Regatta: Boats will compete in a two-kilometer race that takes place on the Snake River...the regatta begins with each team racing two varsity four boats at 8:30 a.m...for the rest of the races, each team will race just one crew...the varsity eight race is set to begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by the second varsity eights at 9 a.m., the third varsity eights at 9:15 a.m. and the fourth varsity eights at 9:30 a.m.

About the 27th Fawley Cup:  Washington State and Gonzaga's varsity eights meet each spring to compete for the Fawley Cup...the Fawley Cup has been awarded each year since 1991...WSU has won 24 of the 27 Fawley Cup races since its inception.

Last Season Against Gonzaga: Last season at Silver Lake, No. 10 Washington State took five-of-six races from No. 19 Gonzaga...WSU won each of the second, third, and fourth varsity eight heats, along with the varsity and second varsity four races...GU's lone win of the day came in the varsity eight matchup for the Fawley Cup...the Cougars were out to a seven-seat lead when the race was stopped due to seaweed on the Gonzaga boat's skag...after the restart, Gonzaga used a late surge to defeat the Cougars, crossing the finish line just one second ahead of WSU...it was GU's first Fawley Cup victory over WSU since 2007, and just the third overall win for the Zags in the 26-year history of the race.

WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere On Starting the Spring Racing Season: "We just really can hardly wait to race. It's always really exciting. It's the first race, and we've been training pretty well down at the Snake River. It's been kind of a long winter, so we're just excited to host Gonzaga and have a big whoop up on Saturday."

WSU Head Coach Jane LaRiviere On Team Leadership: "Well, you know, Nicole [Hare] and Ieva [Adomaviciute] - we're really excited to have back, and there's the regular seniors of Isabella Watt, Teo [Mihaela-Teodora] Berindei, and then Chloë Rogers. It's just a really mature group. We have three fifth-year seniors and that's a bit rare for us. It's nice to have that maturity around the boathouse. Everybody is contributing, including our freshmen. They are a really mature group who've just kind of folded right into the mix and are contributing at a lot of different levels."

Cougars Ranked 12th in USRowing/CRCA Preseason Poll: WSUis ranked 12th in the nation in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Division I Preseason Poll presented by Pocock Racing Shells, released March 16... Washington State's No. 12 ranking keeps them in the nation's top-15 for a 20th-consecutive week dating back to March 25, 2015...overall, WSU is ranked in the top-25 for the 88th-consecutive week, dating back to June 11, 2008...five of the seven Pac-12's women's rowing teams are ranked in the top-20 poll: California-first, Washington-third, Stanford-seventh, WSU-12th, and USC-13th.

Coaching Staff: Jane LaRiviere is in her 15th year as head coach of the WSU women's rowing program...as a team, the Cougars have raced in 10 NCAA Championships under LaRiviere...she is joined by associate head coach Josh Adam, assistant/novice coach Karl Huhta and assistant coach Liz England...Adam is in his seventh year after coaching his prior two years at Indiana...Huhta is in his third year with the Cougars and second as the novice coach...England is entering her first season, after rowing for LaRiviere from 2010-12.

Next for the Cougars: The Cougars will travel to the San Diego Crew Classic Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2 at Mission Bay.

Schedule of Events:
8:30 a.m. – Varsity Four
8:45 a.m. – Varsity Eight
9 a.m. – Second Varsity Eight
9:15 a.m. – Third Varsity Eight
9:30 a.m. – Fourth Varsity Eight

Directions to the WSU Boathouse at Wawawai Landing:
• From Highway 195 (north or south), turn west on Wawawai Road at the blinking yellow light.
• Travel on Wawawai Road for 10 miles, the road will end at a stop sign.
• Turn right and drive six miles down into the canyon.
• Go past the county park on the right and over the railroad tracks. 
• The boathouse is a cinderblock building on the right.
• Park on the side of the road or in the parking lot south of the boathouse.