"The team did a great job this week," Cal head coach Al Acosta said. "We shifted lineups around every race and the team made the necessary adjustments and improved race to race. We're looking forward to a solid week of training before we depart for San Diego."
Cal, the defending NCAA Champions, opened the Pac-12 Challenge with head-to-head racing against Virginia, who took fifth at the 2018 NCAA Championships. The Bears' varsity eight topped the Cavaliers in Cal's first race of the day, finishing with a time of 6:17.7, the fastest by any boat on Saturday. The second varsity eight followed it up with another victory over Virginia while the varsity four was edged by the Cavaliers in its first race of the day. The second varsity four and third varsity eight finished second in their respective morning heats as well.
The afternoon session saw a strong response from the Bears, racing against the No. 13 Badgers from Wisconsin. Cal swept won all three races in the championship events, including the varsity four, which clocked in seven seconds ahead of Wisconsin.
Competing under clear conditions again on Sunday, the Bears closed the competition in convincing fashion on Sunday. The varsity eight dropped time from Saturday's, beating Iowa to the line with a time of 6:15.9, the fastest by any boat at this year's Pac-12 Challenge. The second varsity eight got off to a strong start in its race, leading by open water by the midway mark and closing strong to remain unbeaten on the weekend. The varsity four followed suit with a fast and composed race, topping Iowa. The second varsity four was narrowly edged by Virginia in Cal's final race of the day, finishing second by less than three seconds.
The Bears will be back in action next weekend, racing at the San Diego Crew Classic. The Golden Bears swept all four events at last year's Crew Classic, including capturing the Women's Collegiate Varsity Jessop-Whittier Cup in the varsity eight.
For more information on the Golden Bears throughout the year, follow the team on Twitter (@CalWRowing), Instagram (@CalWRowing), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWRowing).
Saturday Morning - Results
| Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:17.7 |
| 2. | Virginia | 6:32.8 |
| Second Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:25.9 |
| 2. | Virginia | 6:34.2 |
| Varsity 4+ | ||
| 1. | Virginia | 7:14.3 |
| 2. | California | 7:25.8 |
| Second Varsity 4+ | ||
| 1. | Virginia | 7:19.2 |
| 2. | California | 7:21.4 |
| Third Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | Stanford | 6:37.4 |
| 2. | California | 7:02.2 |
Saturday Morning – Lineups
Varsity 8+
Riley Brown (cox)
Charlotte Wesselmann (stroke)
Maddison Brown
Juliane Farlisch
Dana Moffat
Sydney Payne
Samantha Lamos
Ellie Howe
Alex Floyd (bow)
Second Varsity 8+
Elisa Forbes (cox)
Lindsay Noah (stroke)
Kailani Marchak
Zoe Feist
Lucine Ahyi
Kendall Fearnley
Nadia Negm
Isabella Marhsall
Lottie Orr (bow)
Varsity 4+
Lydia Hancock (cox)
Jackie Hendriks
Sydney Kend
Sophie Balson
Jillian Behrens
Second Varsity 4+
Mika Allen (cox)
Abby Paiva
Jane Perrignon
Carlie Stipe
McKenna Bonkowski
Third Varsity 8+
Alexis Gorlick (cox)
Elyse McNamara-Pittler (stroke)
Madison Necochea
Mariana Vazquez
Olivia Mestas
Nicole Guzhavin
Eva Sabine
Anna Elmgren
Kathy Larsen (bow)
Saturday Afternoon - Results
| Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:20.7 |
| 2. | Wisconsin | 6:28.3 |
| Second Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:39.9 |
| 2. | Wisconsin | 6:50.3 |
| Varsity 4+ | ||
| 1. | California | 7:30.0 |
| 2. | Wisconsin | 7:37.1 |
Saturday Afternoon – Lineups
Varsity 8+
Riley Brown (cox)
Charlotte Wesselmann (stroke)
Maddison Brown
Zoe Feist
Dana Moffat
Sydney Payne
Samantha Lamos
Ellie Howe
Alex Floyd (bow)
Second Varsity 8+
Elisa Forbes (cox)
Lindsay Noah (stroke)
Kailani Marchak
Sophie Balson
Lucine Ahyi
Kendall Fearnley
Nadia Negm
Isabella Marhsall
Lottie Orr (bow)
Varsity 4+
Lydia Hancock (cox)
Jackie Hendriks
Jane Perrignon
Abby Paiva
Jillian Behrens
Sunday Morning – Results
| Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:15.9 |
| 2. | Iowa | 6:25.5 |
| Second Varsity 8+ | ||
| 1. | California | 6:30.1 |
| 2. | Iowa | 6:46.7 |
| Varsity 4+ | ||
| 1. | California | 7:16.9 |
| 2. | Iowa | 7:42.8 |
| Second Varsity 4+ | ||
| 1. | Virginia | 7:23.6 |
| 2. | California | 7:26.4 |
Sunday Morning - Lineups
Varsity 8+
Riley Brown (cox)
Charlotte Wesselmann (stroke)
Maddison Brown
Juliane Farlisch
Dana Moffat
Sydney Payne
Samantha Lamos
Ellie Howe
Alex Floyd (bow)
Second Varsity 8+
Elisa Forbes (cox)
Lindsay Noah (stroke)
Kailani Marchak
Zoe Feist
Lucine Ahyi
Kendall Fearnley
Nadia Negm
Isabella Marhsall
Lottie Orr (bow)
Varsity 4+
Lydia Hancock (cox)
Jane Perrignon
Abby Paiva
Jillian Behrens
Jackie Hendriks
Second Varsity 4+
Natasha Ellis (cox)
Carlie Stipe
Sydney Kend
Sophie Balson
McKenna Bonkowski