Burnaby, BC – The Mustangs finished 4th on both the men's & women's standings at the 2023 Canadian University Rowing Championships this weekend.

Western's results were highlighted by a gold medal in the Women's Single race when Rachel Weber finished with a nearly 3-second win in a time of 8:10.320.

"In the past two years i've raced other boats and got other medals, but it was my first time racing the single and my first gold at CUs which made it extra exciting for my fourth year, kind of as if it was building up to this." said Weber "During the race I mostly just tried to enjoy it and have fun racing in order to stay calm in the tricky conditions."

The result impressed Weber's coach.

"Rachel had to pivot quickly from a big boat focus in the lead-up to OUAs to getting ready for the single, so her preparation time wasn't ideal. She's a very talented and mentally resilient athlete who had her best race on the day it mattered most." said Mustangs Women's Rowing Head Coach Matthew Waddell.

The Mustangs also had a silver medal finish in the Men's Pairs boat with Sam Stewart & Aidan Hembruff finishing with a 6:48.227 final time.

"Sam and Aidan are great leaders within our program that we value very much." said Mustangs Men's Rowing Head Coach Dan Bechard "Their work ethic and positive attitudes towards their teammates has guided our program in the right direction and will certainly be an asset for them long into the future."

Western added bronze medals in the Men's 8 and men's Single, while the Women's 8 & Women's lightweight four also finished 3^rd in their races to hit the podium.

Bechard was also recognized in the post event banquet with the President's Award. The honour is bestowed on someone who has made a significant contribution to Rowing in Canada.

"Its wonderful to be acknowledged out of such a large group of coaches and leaders." said Bechard "We all need to ensure the health of our league and I was always thrilled to do my part while being supported by a wonderful team and colleagues."

"Dan has done a lot of work to make ensure the CURCs has had predictable hosts many years in future, and improved the financial sustainability and stability of the regatta," said Waddell "Our league has been greatly improved from his work."

Individual Major Awards
Women's Athlete of the Year – Kennedy Burrows (Ottawa)
Men's Athlete of the Year – Stephen Harris (Brock)
Women's Team Coach of the Year – Jane Gumley (Victoria)
Men's Team Coach of the Year – Mike Pearce (UBC)
President's Award ­– Dan Bechard (Western)
Above and Beyond Athlete of the Year – Jack Harding (StFX)
Coach Builder of the Year – Courtney Amilee (Calgary)
 
Women's Final Point Standings
Victoria – 108
UBC – 100
Queen's – 91
Western – 78
Brock – 31
Toronto – 30
Calgary – 29
Guelph – 25
Dalhousie – 20
Ottawa – 15
McMaster – 7
UFV – 0
StFX – 0
Carleton – 0
UdeMontreal – 0
Ontario Tech – 0
SFU – 0
USask – 0
McGill – 0
Waterloo – 0
 
Men's Final Point Standings
UBC – 123
Brock – 100
Victoria – 90
Western – 83
Queen's – 48
Calgary – 38
McGill – 29
Dalhousie – 9
McMaster – 8
Guelph – 7
UFV – 0
StFX – 0
Carleton – 0
UdeMontreal – 0
Ontario Tech – 0
SFU – 0
USask – 0
Waterloo – 0
Toronto – 0
Ottawa – 0
 
Women's Medal Races
Women's Lightweight Pair
1 Brock - 7:38.870; 2 UBC - 7:39.718; 3 Victoria - 7:53.629
 
Women's Pair
1 UBC - 7:34.495; 2 Victoria - 7:37.308; 3 Queen's 7:40.760
 
Women's Lightweight Four
1 Queen's - 7:27.220; 2 Victoria - 7:30.491; 3 Western - 7:35.901
 
Women's Single
1 Western - 8:10.320; 2 Victoria - 8:14.163; 3 UBC - 8:17.761
 
Women's Lightweight Single
1 Ottawa - 8:05.025; 2 Dalhousie - 8:08.043; 3 Queen's - 8:08.392
 
Women's Eight
1 Victoria - 6:31.062; 2 UBC - 6:34.109; 3 Western - 6:34.434
 
Men's Medal Races
Men's Single
1 UBC - 7:21.660; 2 Brock - 7:29.013; 3 Western - 7:36.538
 
Men's Lightweight Single
1 Victoria - 7:21.756; 2 UBC - 7:24.784; 3 Brock - 7:27.225
 
Men's Eight
1 UBC - 5:45.198; 2 Victoria 5:48.914; 3 Western 5:52.590
 
Men's Lightweight Pair
1 Brock - 6:41.263; 2 UBC - 6:43.543; Queen's - 6:46.483
 
Men's Pair
1 UBC - 6:43.808; 2 Western - 6:48.227; 3 Queen's - 6:51.645
 
Men's Lightweight Four
1 Brock - 6:32.997; 2 UBC - 6:34.921; 3 Queen's - 6:41.542