On Saturday, Nov. 14, California men's crew took part in the West Coast Speed Order at the Oakland Estuary. Hosted by the California Rowing Club (CRC) on behalf of U.S. Rowing and held on an informal basis, the speed order event provided an opportunity for prospective national team athletes from around the country to test their condition prior to spring racing.

Following the Bears' strong performances at the Head of the Charles Regatta and the Princeton 3-Mile Chase, the Speed Order give head coach Mike Teti a chance to see individual performances from his top student-athletes.

Starting with a 6000-meter erg test followed by a time-trial rowed along a course of 4080 meters, the event was designed to test endurance and stamina in the run-up to the busy spring racing.

“It was a great opportunity to compare ourselves against national team athletes and make an internal assessment of our top group's speed in small boats,” said assistant coach Scott Frandsen.

The West Coast Speed Order was the final fall race for Cal rowers as they settle into the fall training period. Cal entered six pairs with a range of student-athletes from across all classes. A seventh unaffiliated pair was rowed by Cal's Justin Murphy (Class of 2017) and CRC athlete Cole Reiser (Class of 2014).

The Speed Order began on Friday evening with the 6000-meter erg test in which four Cal oarsmen finished in a time of 19 minutes or under, with every Cal oarsman achieving a personal best time. The erg test on Friday no doubt left the rowers feeling drained; however, this did not stop them from battling it out for Saturday's first-place position.

Strong performances could be seen across all the Cal entries with 2016 Olympic hopeful Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk (Class of 2018) and Ferdi Querfeld (Class of 2019) crossing the line with the fastest times. Following in quick succession, the rest of the Cal pairs demonstrated not only the strength but also the youth of the varsity squad.

There is no doubt that this upcoming season will be one to watch as the strength and depth of the Bears continues to grow. New rowers in the squad continue to raise the standard of the team to new highs as Cal rowing continues to pursue excellence at the national, international and Olympic stage.