GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Coming off a strong showing last weekend at Redwood Shores, the Cal women's rowing team carried that momentum to Lake Natoma, winning all 13 races to complete the weekend sweep. The second-ranked Golden Bears went a perfect 9-9 in the NCAA events while also notching a pair of wins in both the Second Varsity Four and Third Varsity Eight events. Cal competed against an impressive field, featuring two top-10 opponents in Stanford and Brown, as well as Boston University, Clemson, Gonzaga, Central Florida, Notre Dame, and Sacramento State.

"The Lake Natoma Invitational was great," said head coach Al Acosta. "I thought it was really well-run and provided a high level of racing across the board. We're very fortunate to have crews travel to Northern California from all across the country."

With the forecast calling for inclement weather in the middle of the day, Saturday's morning session was bumped up an hour. But the early start did not deter the Bears, who won all three races against Notre Dame and Boston College by more than 10 seconds. Cal also claimed the top two spots in the preliminary heats of second varsity 4+, sending both the A and B boat to the grand final in the afternoon session. The Bears finished ahead of the Stanford A boat and Gonzaga.

Following the afternoon break, the Bears resumed the competition with a win over host Sacramento State in the third varsity eight, clocking in at 6:38.48. Competing against Clemson and the University of Central Florida, the Bears once again swept all three NCAA events, winning each race by a margin of 15 seconds or greater.  Later that afternoon the Bears' A boat narrowly edged the B boat in the Second Varsity 4+ Grand Final, winning by a margin of just 2.58 seconds.

With clear and favorable conditions on Sunday, Cal's novice eight beat the Bears' third varsity eight by less than two seconds to open the morning racing. The Bears then squared off against a pair of top-10 crews in No.  6 Stanford and No. 9 Brown, but once again proved up to the task, winning all three races. Cal's First Varsity Eight and Varsity Four have yet to drop a race this spring season.

"As a team, we feel like we took a step forward this weekend as we continued to try different lineups in search of more boatspeed," Acosta said. "In particular, we were all impressed with the freshmen. They got down early in their race but stuck with it and ended up having a great piece. The second eight also came up big today. They did a nice job of working through lineup changes, sticking to the plan, and going fast. Next week we need to quickly refocus and get back to work for the dual with Washington."

Cal will be back in action on Saturday, April 22 when the Bears visit the top-ranked Huskies at Montlake Cut in Seattle.

For updates and information on the team throughout the year, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWCrew), Instagram (@CalWRowing), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWRowing).
 
Results
Saturday - Morning Session:
Women's First Varsity 4+: 1. California 6:58.98; 2. Notre Dame 7:18.83; 3. Boston University 7:41.87
Women's Second Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:18.52; 2. Notre Dame 6:32.63; 3. Boston University 6:56.63
Women's First Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:15.79; 2. Notre Dame 6:26.32; 3. Boston University 6:39.83
Women's 2V4+ - Heat 2: 1. Cal A 7:08.81; 2. Cal B 7:14.17;  3. Stanford A 7:25.41; 4. Gonzaga 7:33.68

Saturday – Afternoon Session
Women's Third Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:38.84; 2. Sacramento State 7:29.56
Women's First Varsity 4+: 1. California 6:58.86; 2. Central Florida 7:25.78; 3. Clemson 7:29.77
Women's Second Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:19.76; 2. Clemson 6:37.23; 3. Central Florida 6:37.48
Women's First Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:11.05; 2. Central Florida 6:27.72: 3. Clemson 6:34.67
Women's 2V4+ - Grand Final: 1. Cal A 7:04.18; 2. Cal B 7:06.76; 3. Stanford B 7:13.37; 4. ND 7:19.58

Sunday – Morning Session
Women's Third Varsity 8+: 1. California B 6:29.53; 2. California A 6:31.51: 3. Sacramento State 7:21.22
Women's First Varsity 4+: 1. California 7:02.7; 2. Brown 7:07.5; 3. Stanford 7:12.4
Women's Second Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:20.00; 2. Brown 6:28.65: 3. Stanford 6:31.24
Women's First Varsity 8+: 1. California 6:18.27; 2. Stanford 6:23.61; 3. Brown 6:28.55