LAS VEGAS/NEWPORT BEACH – The California Golden Bears men's rowing team competed at two separate events on Saturday morning with the varsity 8+, 2V8+ and 3V8+ finishing day two at the Las Vegas Invitational at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada, while the freshman 8+ and 4V8+ competed in the California Challenge Cup at Marina Park in Newport Beach, California.
 
After completing a perfect sweep between the varsity 8+, 2V8+ and 3V8+ on Friday evening, all three boats repeated the effort on Saturday morning with each crew racing twice. The varsity 8+ defeated Colgate in its first race by over 20 seconds with a time of 5:45.63, marking its best time of the weekend, and followed that up by defeating Drexel by over 25 seconds with a time of 5:53.43.
 
The 2V8+ kept things going by defeating Drexel's 2V8+ with a time of 5:58.63, followed by Cal's 3V8+, which took down Oregon State's 2V8+ and 3V8+ with a time of 5:59.17. The 2V8+ and 3V8+ also raced together against San Diego's varsity 8+, with the 2V8+ winning with a time of 5:52.60 followed by the 3V8+ at 5:55.73, with each time marking the fastest finishes for both crews over the weekend.
 
"I'm happy we got some really good water and completed the three rounds of racing that we came here for," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "I think it's really valuable to get three trips down the race course and get the bodies opened up into the race pace, and you learn a lot in these first preliminary races. I think the whole trip was a success."
 
Due to predicted high winds for this weekend, the schedule had to be moved up a full day, but that didn't seem to affect the team.
 
"The guys were mentally nimble and prepared," Frandsen said. "We ended up shifting the races around to get the best water we could and pretty much raced in flat conditions. I'm happy with how the guys were able to rise to the challenge when it was time to race."
 
At the California Challenge on Saturday, the 4V8+'s first race of the day resulted in a narrow defeat as it lost by just over one second to UC San Diego's 2V8+ 4:00.213 to 4:01.813. It followed that up with a win over Orange Coast College's varsity 8+ with a time of 4:07.559. It then raced against UC San Diego's 2V8+ a second time, suffering another close defeat by a time of 4:03.026 to 4:06.014.
 
The freshman 8+ swept all three of its races, beginning with a win over Santa Clara's varsity 8+ with a time of 3:56.969, before taking down UCLA's varsity 8+ with a time of 3:59.517 and rounding out the day with a win over UC San Diego's varsity 8+ with its best time of the day at 3:54.084.
 
"It was good to come down and early season racing has its challenges but also has its advantages and the weather was beautiful after the last couple of years have been kind of rough here," Cal assistant coach Brandon Shald said. "We got some clean runs down the course and the freshman eight had a solid Saturday being able to build on each of the three races. I think they came off the water feeling like they seized the moment to improve and build on each piece. The fifth varsity, having lost two out of three is obviously disappointing, but I think coming off the water you know the standard that is required, especially when you're going against other schools' varsity lineups. There were lessons to be learned in both boats."
 
The Bears will next head to the San Diego Crew Classic at Mission Bay from April 1-2.
 
Las Vegas Invitational Saturday Results V8+
1. Cal V8+ – 5:45.63
2. Colgate V8+ – 6:07.16
 
1. Cal V8+ – 5:53. 43
2. Drexel V8+ – 6:21. 07
 
2V8+
1. Cal 2V8+ – 5:58.63
2. Drexel 2V8+ – 6:12.88
 
3V8+
1. Cal 3V8+ – 5:59.17
2. Oregon State 2V8+ – 6:23.30
3. Oregon State 3V8+ – 6:30.72
 
2V8+ and 3V8+
1. Cal 2V8+ – 5:52.60
2. Cal 3V8+ – 5:55.73
3. San Diego V8+ – 6:18.35
 
Las Vegas Invitational Saturday Lineups V8+
Coxswain:  Luca Vieira
Tim Roth
Angus Dawson
Gennaro di Mauro
Ollie Maclean
Frederik Breuer
Gus Rodriguez
Balthasar Issa
Bow:  Campbell Crouch
 
2V8+
Coxswain:  Savannah Adamo
Tyler Kurth
Fred Roper
Daton Wolfaardt
Elliott Kemp
Bret Holt
Harry Manton
Marcus Cameron
Wilson Morton
 
3V8+
Coxswain:  Grant Fisher
Christian Tabash
Harry Cox
Dane Halkiw
Jamie Arnold
Matthew Gallagher
Guy Ferrera
Farley Dimond-Brown
Henry Furrer
 
California Challenge Cup Results 4V8+
1. UC San Diego 2V8+ – 4:00.213
2. Cal 4V8+ – 4:01.813
 
1. Cal 4V8+ – 4:07.559
2. Orange Coast College V8+ – 4:10.176
 
1. UC San Diego 2V8+ – 4:03.026
2. Cal 4V8+ – 4:06.014
 
Freshman 8+
1. Cal – 3:56.969
2. Santa Clara V8+ – 4:04.059
 
1. Cal – 3:59.517
2. UCLA V8+ – 4:05.02
 
1. Cal – 3:54.084
2. UC San Diego V8+ – 4:04.429
 
California Challenge Cup Lineups 4V8+
Coxswain:  Illiad Izadi
Stroke:  Chris Weiss
Fritz Wright
Brody Bottomley
Nicholas Koudriaev
Jack Hanson
Henrik Siemering
Adrian Enders
Bow Seat:  Emilio Pappalettera
 
Freshman 8+
Coxswain:  Ethan Nghiem
Stroke:  Thomas Heerding
Keith Ryan
Alexander Baroni
Pablo Moreno
Alon Gibor
Luciano Andreuccetti
Dan Bradbery
Bow Seat:  Matthew Waddell
 
 
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