BURNABY, B.C. – For the third time in four years, the UBC Thunderbirds men's rowing team has won the Canadian University Rowing Championship. The UBC women's squad finished third, just eight points off the lead.

Guided by CURC Men's Coach of the Year Mike Pearce, UBC earned a six-point triumph on Burnaby Lake over archrivals Victoria. The team repeated as national champions; it also claimed the CURC men's title in 2014.

"We had a great mix of young guys and veteran talent and they were able to find the right focus at the right time and we got the right result under a pressure situation," said UBC head coach Mike Pearce.

Thunderbird Aaron Lattimer was named Male Athlete of the Year, after helping his team win the Lightweight 2x with his brother, Maxwell, and the Lightweight 4+. The Lattimers, Marcus van der Sande, Ivan Rybkin, and coxswain Kevin Chung comprised the victorious foursome.



UBC also triumphed in the Men's Eight. The squad was made of Ryan Beach, Brendan Wall, Matthew Schultz, Ray Bell, Sean van Gessel, Owen Heaney, van der Sande, Harris Sheldon, and coxswain Chung.

A consistent force in every race, the Thunderbirds women's team was locked in a tight three-way battle with Victoria, and eventual winners, Western.

"The UBC women medalled in every event this year," said UBC head coach Craig Pond. "We were the only team to do this and is a solid building block for this young team heading into next year." 

The Thunderbirds placed second in the Women's 2-, the Lightweight 4+, and the Eight.



Jessica Sevick and Savannah Sami-Bacon teamed to win silver in the women's coxless pair.

Renee LaFreniere, Isabella Cina, Julia Lindsay, Emma Starr and coxswain Alex Birkenshaw won silver in the Lightweight 4+.

In the Eight, UBC was represented by Rachel Vukovich, Emily Gerson, Sami-Bacon, Lucy Vincent-Smith, Sevick, Claire Armstrong, Kristina Walker, Claire Brillon and coxswain Tina Yu.

TEAM STANDINGS
MEN
1. UBC -- 116 points
2. Victoria -- 110
3. Western -- 80
4. Brock -- 77
5. Trent -- 70
6. Ottawa -- 45
7. Queen's -- 36
8. Guelph -- 27
9. McGill -- 26
10. Carleton -- 25
11. St. Francis Xavier -- 19
12. McMaster -- 14
13. Toronto -- 13
14. Alberta -- 10
15. Calgary -- 9
16. Laurentian -- 5
17. Fraser Valley -- 4
18. Simon Fraser -- 0

WOMEN
1. Western -- 111
2. Victoria -- 107
3. UBC -- 103
4. Guelph -- 63
5. Brock -- 53
6. Calgary -- 50
7. Carleton -- 40
8. Toronto -- 32
9. Trent -- 29
10. Ottawa -- 28
11. McGill -- 26
12. Queen's -- 23
13. McMaster -- 18
14. Simon Fraser -- 15
15. Laurentian -- 8
15. St. Francis Xavier - 8
17. Alberta -- 6
18. Fraser Valley -- 2