GOLD RIVER, Calif. — Sacramento State took home gold medals in five of the six races at the Sacramento State Rowing Invitational on Saturday morning at Lake Natoma. The regatta marked the spring season opener for the Hornets.

With crosswinds ranging from 5-10 miles per hour, and rowing with a current of 16,000-18,000 CFS and increasing throughout the day, there were some extremely fast times during the regatta. That included a 6:15.0 posted by Sacramento State's varsity eight and a 6:33.3 from the Hornets' second varsity eight.

Along with Sacramento State, other boats competing at the event were Humboldt State, UC San Diego, Saint Mary's, Orange Coast College and Mills College. A total of six races took place today, and the Hornets secured five first-place finishes and a second-place finish.

"I think today went pretty well," Sacramento State head coach Mike Connors said. "We had some pretty challenging conditions and a lot of current, although we handled it well.

"There are definitely areas we need to work on, but I am excited to see the amount of improvement throughout the season. It was nice to see first-place finishes in five of the six races, and we would have liked to win the third varsity eight, but they put up a challenging fight."

The Hornets' varsity eight, helped by the strong current, posted easily the fastest time in school history with a 2,000-meter winning time of 6:15.0. They were followed by Saint Mary's (6:22.5) and Orange Coast College (6:28.5) to round out the top three in the six-boat field.

The second varsity eight nearly eclipsed the 6:30 mark, finishing in first place by over 11 seconds with its time of 6:33.3. The boat was followed by Saint Mary's (6:44.7), UC San Diego (6:52.1), Humboldt State (7:06.1) and Mills College (8:06.9).

Sacramento State also posted winning times in the varsity four (7:11.1), second varsity four (7:29.0) and novice four (8:04.1). Each of those three boats won their races by over 20 seconds. The Hornets' A entry in the novice eight/third varsity eight competition finished with a second-place time of 7:02.2, just 3.1 seconds slower than UC San Diego's winning mark of 6:59.1.

Complete results from each race and Sacramento State's lineups can be found below.

The Hornets return to the water a week from today (March 19) when the team hosts San Diego State, Alabama and Saint Mary's.

SACRAMENTO STATE'S LINEUPS

VARSITY EIGHT
cox – Alexa Cantley, s – Courtney Owen, 7 – Nika Szyrynski, 6 – Shannon Rauls, 5 – Carli Preston, 4 – Jill Modean, 3 – Sarah Buchter, 2 - Anne Smolenski, b – Callie Senna

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
cox – Melissa Pollard,  s- Megan Boggs, 7 – Claire Perez, 6 – Migle Griskelyte, 5 – Melissa Kepler, 4 – Elena Galvez, 3 – Jasmine Taylor,  2 – Natasha Bazzo b – Erin Kothlow

VARSITY FOUR
cox – Emily Mauer, s – Bailey Greenslit, 3 – Samantha Walker, 2 – Elizabeth Ditoiu, b – Emily Zimmerman

SECOND VARSITY FOUR
cox – Paige Poulin, s – Megan Boggs, 3 – Claire Perez, 2 – Cheyenne Amaro b – Vjollca Rexhepi

NOVICE EIGHT/THIRD VARSITY EIGHT A
Cox- Deyanira Ventura, s- Carissa Macias, 7- Cassandra Macias, 6- Kaylin Mallery, 5- Lia Patrinellis, 4- Chelscie Pacheco, 3- Lexi Haynes, 2- Bryanna McIntyre, b- Ashley Velasquez 


NOVICE EIGHT/THIRD VARSITY EIGHT B
Cox- Anica Hernandez, s- Dimari Aldridge, 7- Melinda Anthony, 6- Kennedi Sullivan, 5- Alexus Hewitt, 4- Amber Anderson-Wells, 3- Anna Listmann, 2- Raelyn Troche, b- Valeria Torres 


NOVICE FOUR
Cox- Cassidy Bouchard, s- Susana Contreras, 3- Valeria Torres, 2- Sierra Robershaw, b- Shamon Pollard

TODAY'S RESULTS

VARSITY EIGHT
Sacramento State - 6:15.0

Saint Mary's - 6:22.5

Orange Coast College - 6:28.5

UC San Diego - 6:30.6

Humboldt State - 6:33.7

Mills College - 7:04.5



SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Sacramento State - 6:33.3

Saint Mary's - 6:44.7

UC San Diego - 6:52.1

Humboldt State - 7:06.1

Mills College - 8:06.9



VARSITY FOUR
Sacramento State - 7:11.1

UC San Diego - 7:31.3

Saint Mary's - 7:41.4

Orange Coast College - 7:42.7

Mills College - 7:52.1

Humboldt State - 7:59.6



NOVICE EIGHT/THIRD VARSITY EIGHT
UC San Diego - 6:59.1
Sacramento State A - 7:02.2

Sacramento State B- 7:12.7

Orange Coast College - 7:17.8

Humboldt State - 7:28.3

Saint Mary's - 7:57.6



SECOND VARSITY FOUR
Sacramento State - 7:29.0

UC San Diego - 7:56.3

Humboldt State - 8:08.5

Saint Mary's - 8:28.1

Mills College - 9:03.7



NOVICE FOUR
Sacramento State - 8:04.1
UC San Diego - 8:30.0

Humboldt State - 8:52.1

Mills College - 9:49.1