LOWELL – The No. 1 California men's rowing team had another outstanding weekend of racing, securing the Pac-12 Championship title for the second year in a row. After winning the 2V8+ race, The Golden Bears had a three-point lead in the standings going into the final race as they split the 3V8+ and freshmen 8+ races with Washington, leaving it up to the varsity eight crew to bring home the title.
 
In the V8+ race, Cal and Washington were even through the start but the Bears we able to build a deck lead in the opening 500 meters. Cal continued to push and opened a bow to stern lead through the halfway mark. The Bears didn't let up and grew their lead to open water in the third 500 meters, managing to finish four seconds ahead of Washington in a time of 5:34.673 to secure the Pac-12 Championship.
 
"I'm really proud of how the entire team raced today led by the varsity eight, who I think had a great race," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "I'm also really pleased with how the second varsity eight, freshmen eight and varsity four raced. The conditions were a little rough with the crosswind at the start, but calmed down through the morning and were pretty good by the time the varsity eight race. I want to give a special shout out to my coaching staff with Brandon [Shald], Jason [Elefant], Jack [Smith] and Mike [Chandler] for stepping up in their roles and making sure all the crews were primed and ready."
 
After jumping out to an early bow to stern lead over Washington, the second varsity eight crew overcame some adversity in its race as the Stanford boat veered towards it during the second 500 meters. The Bears were able to maintain their composure and managed to pull away, but then had to fend off a surging Washington boat that pulled within half a length in the final 500 meters. Cal was able to hold off the Huskies' push and finish a half-boat ahead in a time of 5:38.058.
 
"I'm really happy with how the second varsity eight got out and attacked the race, which was a focus, and then managed the adversity through the middle and dug in and held on for the win," Frandsen said.
 
In the 3V8+ race, Cal got out to an even start with Washington but fell a deck behind early. The Huskies increased their lead to a half-boat by the halfway mark and continued to push the distance between them and the Bears throughout the remainder of the race.
 
In the beginning of the freshmen 8+ race, the Bears fell behind half of a boat in the opening 500 meters behind Washington; that lead stretched to almost a length by the 1000m.  Cal started to move back on Washington through the third quarter of the race and drew level roughly 200m before the finish line.  Showing great composure and belief, the Bears pushed ahead to win by one-second win with a time of 5:47.100.
 
In the varsity four race, Cal and Washington jumped out ahead of the pack with the Bears about a half boat back through the opening 500 meters. Cal made a strong move towards the halfway mark and overtook the Huskies with a deck lead. The Bears continued their push building a bow to stern lead through the third 500 meters and came away with a two-second win in a time of 6:24.270.
 
The Bears now shift their focus to getting faster over the next three weeks leading up to the IRAs in Mercer, New Jersey June 2-4.
 
"It's always good to get beyond the exams and beyond this weekend and have about 12 days in Berkeley before we move east to New Jersey. I always feel like we can get a lot done and have that be a very productive period," Frandsen said.
 
 
Final Standings
 
1. California – 72 points
2. Washington – 65 points
3. Oregon St – 47 points
4. Stanford – 42 points
 
Results
 
V8+
1. Cal – 5:34.673
2. Washington – 5:38.511
3. Stanford – 5:39.025
4. Oregon State – 6:00.363
 
2V8+
1. Cal – 5:38.058
2. Washington – 5:39.201
3. Stanford – 5:52.342
4. Oregon State – 6:03.102
 
3V8+
1. Washington – 5:46.669
2. Cal – 5:54.189
3. Oregon State – 6:19.549
 
Freshmen 8+
1. Cal - 5:47.100
2. Washington – 5:47.260
3. Oregon State – 6:26.730
 
V4+
1. Cal – 6:24.270
2. Washington – 6:26.600
3. Oregon State – 6:57.462
 
Lineups
V8+
Coxswain - Luca Vieira
Stroke - Iwan Hadfield
7 – Gus Rodriguez
6 - Tim Roth
5 - Ollie Maclean
4 - Gennaro di Mauro
3 – Angus Dawson
2 - Frederik Breuer
Bow - Campbell Crouch
 
2V8+
Coxswain - Grant Fisher
Stroke - Tommy Barrell
7 - Elliott Kemp
6 – Tobias Kristensen
5 - Fred Roper
4 - Balthasar Issa
3 - Matthew Gallagher
2 - Daton Wolfaardt
Bow - Wilson Morton
 
3V8+
Coxswain – Iliad Izadi
Stroke – Farley Dimond-Brown
7 – Marcus Cameron
6 – Christian Tabash
5 – Jamie Arnold
4 – Dane Halkiw
3 – Bret Holt
2 – Josh Anderson
Bow - Tyler Kurth
 
Freshmen 8+
Coxswain – Jedin Truong
Stroke - Dan Bradbery
7 – Pablo Moreno
6 – Alexander Baroni
5 – Matthew Waddell
4 – Thomas Heerding
3 – Luciano Andreuccetti
2 – Chris Weiss
Bow – Keith Ryan
 
V4+
Coxswain – Savannah Adamo
4 – Harry Cox
3 – Harry Manton
2 – Henry Furrer
1 – Leonard Brahms
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's rowing, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMrowing), Instagram (@calmrowing) and Facebook (Cal Crew).