Redwood City, Calif./OAKLAND – The No. 1 California Golden Bears men's rowing team had a strong showing across two separate events Saturday, going undefeated the entire day. The V8+ and 2V8+ competed against a loaded field at the Pac-12 Invitational at the Redwood Shores in Redwood City, CA, while the 4V8+ and 5V8+ raced in the Ebright Invitational at the Oakland Estuary in Oakland, CA. The 3V8+ and Freshman 8+ competed in both events.
Â
The Pac-12 Invitational featured six Varsity 8+ crews that ranked in the top 15 in the country.
Â
"It was positive across the board with lots of really good races against some solid competitions," Cal head coach
Scott Frandsen said. "It's great to have a lot of really solid programs out here to race and to get three trips down the racecourse, learn a lot about our different lineups and how we race and what's good and what needs to improve. It was a productive day with lots to learn."
Â
The Varsity 8+ crew got things going against No. 6 Northeastern in the morning session. Northeastern was able to stay close with Cal through the first 1,000 meters before the Bears picked it up and developed a sizeable lead with about 750 meters to go, finishing with a time of 5:35.0. In the afternoon session, the Varsity 8+ took on No. 11 Boston University. It was a relatively close race in the opening portion with Cal generating just a few seats of open water lead in the first 500 meters. Cal showed why it has one of the deepest teams in the country as it grew its lead to almost two boats as the team passed the 1,000-meter mark before securing the victory with a time of 5:34.7, about 14 seconds ahead of Boston.
Â
In the morning, Cal's 2V8+ faced Northeastern's 2V8+ with the Bears able to give itself about a boat of open water lead about halfway through the race, finishing with a time of 5:44.2. In the afternoon, the 2V8+ raced Boston with Cal taking just a few-seat lead over the first few hundred meters before growing it to over a boat by the 1,000-meter mark and finishing in 5:43.8.
Â
Cal's 3V8+ went up against Wisconsin's 3V8+ to round out the morning session, jumping out to an open water lead over the first 500 meters and cruising to the win in 5:43.7, nearly 20 seconds ahead of the Badgers. Cal's Freshman 8+ crew opened the afternoon session against Wisconsin's 3V8+ with the Bears immediately jumping out to an open water lead, growing it to a few boat lengths by the 1,000-meter mark and finishing in 5:46.9.
Â
At the Ebright Invitational, Cal was able to sweep each race against varying level crews from Orange Coast College, Santa Clara University and University of San Diego.
Â
"It was a good day for all the boats," Cal assistant coach
Brandon Shald said. "In no way shape or form was this the final finished product, but working towards that I thought the guys did a good job top to bottom across all boats. The freshman eight had a good race going for it the first 1,000 or so meters and bringing it down with the understanding that we had another race against Wisconsin this afternoon."
Â
The Freshman 8+ kicked things off for Cal in the morning session, defeating San Diego's V8+ by almost 10 seconds with a time of 6:11.69. Cal's 5V8+ followed up with a dominating win over Santa Clara's 3V8+, finishing in 6:12.76, nearly 20 seconds ahead of the Broncos. Cal's 4V8+ closed out the morning session against Santa Clara's 4V8+ and cruised to victory, almost 24 seconds ahead of the Broncos with a time of 6:13.40.
Â
In the afternoon session, Cal's 4V8+ got things going against Santa Clara's 3V8+, finishing over 20 seconds ahead of the Broncos in a time of 6:27.40. The 5V8+ crew followed up against Orange Coast College's 2V8+ crew and cruised to a win with a time of 6:12.76. Closing out the day was Cal's 3V8+ who took on Santa Clara's V8+ and 2V8+ crews and brought home the win in 6:28.90.
Â
The Bears will return to Redwood Shores and the Oakland Estuary for another day of racing in the morning tomorrow.
).
