May 17, 2009

Complete Pac-10 Rowing Championships Results in PDF Format | Complete Pacific Coast Rowing Championships Results in PDF Format

GOLD RIVER, Calif. - California won the varsity 8+ Ky Ebright Challenge Cup in a photo finish over Stanford, with Washington third, to also win the team title in the last men's grand final of the day at the Pac-10 Rowing Championships on Sunday in 100-plus-degree weather at Lake Natoma. This marked Cal's first conference championship since winning back to back titles in 2005 and 2006 and Cal's first Pac-10 crown under first-year head coach Mike Teti. The 2009 Golden Bears earned 67 points to finish ahead of second-place Washington, which won the other three grand finals, but was third in the varsity 8+ to earn 64 points. Cal placed second in the second varsity 8+, varsity 4+ and novice 8+ races. Stanford was third overall with 52 points.

Last season, Washington had won all four races and Cal took second in all four races, giving the Huskies the team title and the Bears a second-place team finish. This year seemed to be going in that direction heading into the varsity 8+ grand final, but Cal still had a slight chance to win the team championship.

"We have a good crew," Teti said of his thoughts before the last final. "I'm nervous before the race because I think we're good, but we also know that Stanford and Washington are good, too. We've all beaten each other, so it's not enough to be a good crew. You have to be good on the day. I haven't really spoken to the guys so much about the race, but I was hopeful, even though Washington was very impressive with the freshmen and the JV grand finals. I was still thinking, We have a good boat, and I was hopeful.

"We executed well. I think they technically rowed well. I haven't watched the video yet, but I suspect it was pretty good. They held it together. When you're leading like that by a little bit all the way down the course and you're able to fend off all of those challenges, I think it says a lot about the character of the crew. Also, it says a lot about the character of Stanford and Washington. This is one race you wish they could give three gold medals for, because all three crews deserved to win something today."

In the final race for the men at this year's conference regatta, Cal defeated rival Stanford, 5:41.9-5:42.2, with Washington third at 5:44.1.

The day's first race for the men ended with Washington posting a time of 5:42.6 to Cal's 5:51.4 in the novice 8+ grand final, which featured a rare eight-boat field.

The second event - the varsity 4+ grand final - turned into just a three-team race after Oregon State's boat scratched. Washington won with a time of 6:26.6, Cal was second (6:32.5) and UCLA was a distant third (7:05.8).

In the penultimate grand final - the second varsity 8+ race - Cal was second in 5:47.5 and Washington was first in 5:44.1.

The Bears' women also won their conference crown today, giving Cal a sweep of the 2009 Pac-10 team championships.

The year has been an eventful one for Teti so far, from last summer (coaching the U.S. men's eight to a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics) to now (coaching the Golden Bears to their first Pac-10 title in his tenure).

"Cal's a premier program with a ton of tradition," Teti said. "It's a spotlight in the collegiate rowing community and it's in a great place to live. Being associated with such a great University and a great group of people and a great group of alums - they're so supportive - I'm happy and my family's happy here. It's more than I even expected."

On Saturday, May 16, also at Lake Natoma, Cal won a pair of races - the men's open 8+ and novice 4+ - and took second in the men's open 4+ in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships.

The Cal men are expected to earn a berth to the 2009 IRA Regatta, to be held June 4-6 also at Lake Natoma, when the IRA announces its field on May 19.

2009 Pac-10 Rowing Championships Results

Team Standings
1. California 67 points.

2. Washington 64. 3. Stanford 52. 4. Oregon State 38. 5. UCLA 28. 6. Washington State 26. 7. USC 16. 8. Oregon 2.

Grand Finals

Novice 8+
1. Washington 5:42.6. 2. California 5:51.4. 3. Stanford 6:02.2. 4. Washington State 6:03.9. 5. Oregon State 6:07.4. 6. UCLA 6:29.7. 7. USC 6:50.7. 8. Oregon 6:52.5.
Cal: Jack Farthing, Barrett Hahn, Chris Yeager, Patrick Williams, Devan Donaldson, Robert English, Jimmy Henson, Vaughan Coder, Cox: Reze Wong.

Varsity 4+
1. Washington 6:26.6. 2. California 6:32.5. 3. UCLA 7:05.8.
Cal: Sean Engel, Jordan Sartor, Matt McLaren, Benedict Tufnell, Cox: Jack Zhou.

Second Varsity 8+
1. Washington 5:44.1. 2. California 5:47.5. 3. Stanford 5:53.3. 4. Oregon State 6:17.3. 5. Washington State 6:45.8.
Cal: Geoffrey Roth, William Dean, James Long-Lerno, Calum Wright, Jovan Popovic, Samuel Walker, Spencer Crowley, Goran Todorovic, Cox: Michael Porter.

Varsity 8+
1. California 5:41.9. 2. Stanford 5:42.2. 3. Washington 5:44.1. 4. UCLA 6:12.0. 5. USC 6:17.0. 6. Washington State 6:20.5.
Cal: Nick Lucey, Jan Tize, Janis Fontein, Olivier Siegelaar, Brandon Shald, Nareg Guregian, Nikola Zunic, Axel Stelter, Cox: Zachary Vlahos.