MISSION BAY/REDWOOD CITY – The No. 1 California Golden Bears men's rowing team had a dominant showing at both the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay and the Pac-12 Challenge in Redwood City Saturday afternoon. At the San Diego Crew Classic, both the freshmen 8+ and the 4V8+ won their respective heats to advance to their grand finals Sunday and the freshmen 8+ and 4V8+ both competed in an open event where the freshmen took first and the 4V8+ finished second. In the Pac-12 Challenge, Cal swept all eight races over the course of the morning and afternoon sessions.
 
San Diego Crew Classic Recap
In the first heat of the Men's Collegiate Varsity 8+ Cal Cup, the freshmen 8+ dominated and jumped off to a quick lead developing a lead of a boat of open water over the field, which was racing its 1V8+ crew, in just the first few hundred meters. Cal never let up and extended its lead to several boats of open water and cruised to the finish in first place with a time of 6:08.593.
 
In the first heat of the Men's Collegiate 2V8+, the 4V8+ stayed even with the lead pack in the first 10 strokes. The Bears were able take the lead and eventually build a five-seat lead over UC San Diego in the first 500 meters. Cal then grew its lead to open water over UCSD by the final 500 meters and finished in first place with a time of 6:19.279.
 
"The 4V8+ found themselves in a bit of a dogfight which was great," Cal assistant coach Brandon Shald said. "They were four seats up across in 1,000 meters and were able to manage that and pull away there in the last 1,000 meters, which was great for them. With the freshmen it's kind of kind of hard to say what we expect because we're racing other varsity crews. That being said, the freshmen came out and did what we were aiming to do which was grab the race by the scruff of the neck and take command."
 
In the sole heat of the Men's Open 8+ Anderson Borthwick Memorial Trophy, the freshmen 8+ and 4V8+ jumped out ahead with the lead pack along with LA Rowing Club. The freshmen separated themselves and built a lead of open water over the 4V8+ which was in second place. The freshmen extended their lead to several boats of open water over the 4V8+ and cruised to victory in a time of 6:10.818 followed by the 4V8+, which finished in 6:25.798.
 
"The freshmen stepped up and showed out the way that we wanted them to race," Shald said. "They ran the race plan exactly how we wanted them to, which is great because this is a building process."
 
Pac-12 Challenge Recap
 
In the morning V8+ race against Wisconsin, the Bears built a lead early on and built upon it throughout the course of the race winning with a time of 5:41.9 – the fastest time of the day. In the afternoon matchup against La Salle, Cal got a great jump and developed a half-boat lead about 20 strokes in. By the time the Bears hit the 1,000-meter mark they had built a lead of two boats of open water. Cal kept the press on and grew its lead to several boats of open water and was able to coast to victory in a time of 5:44.0
 
In the morning 2V8+ matchup against Wisconsin, Cal got off to a great start, immediately getting a lead within the first few strokes. Through the first 500 meters, the Bears built a lead of about a boat of open water. Cal was able to maintain its lead and coast to victory in a time of 5:49.4. In the afternoon duel against La Salle, Cal jumped out to a half-boat lead after the first few strokes which quickly grew to open water about 250 meters in. After the 1,000-meter mark, Cal was ahead by several boats of open water and easily won in a time of 5:51.9.
 
In the morning 3V8+ race against Wisconsin, Cal jumped out to a lead of four seats in the first few strokes and extended it to about a boat length in the first few hundred meters. By the time the Bears hit the 1,000-meter mark, they separated themselves by two boats of open water. Cal continued to grow its lead over the second half of the race and easily won in a time of 5:54.9. In the afternoon matchup against Oregon State, it was fairly even off the start with Cal taking just a one-seat lead within the first 10 strokes. That lead quickly grew to a few seats of open water after the first 500 meters. By the time Cal hit the 1,000-meter mark, it was ahead by almost two boats of open water. The Bears' lead was able to grow over the second half of the race and they cruised to the win in a time of 6:00.7.
 
In the morning 5V8+ duel against the Oregon State 3V8+, the Bears got off to a good start and jumped ahead by about a half a boat within the first 15 strokes. As the boats approached the halfway mark, Cal extended its lead to a boat of open water. The Bears continued to press in the second half of the race growing their lead to two boats of open water and cruised to the win in a time of 6:07.0. In the afternoon matchup against the Wisconsin 3V8+, Cal jumped out to an early lead of about four seats within the first 10 strokes. At about 500 meters in, the Bears opened their lead to a boat of open water. Cal did not let up and extended its lead to over two boats of open water at the halfway mark. The Bears were able to coast to victory in a time of 6:04.5.
 
"I think by all accounts, we feel like the group made a good step through the racing today," Cal associate head coach Sam Baum said. "All the boats had better pieces in their second round of racing, which was what we set out to do. Have a high level of execution in each piece and target what needs to improve based on that first piece. With the first and second eights that certainly happened and the third eight had some good developments as well. We have people from top to bottom in the program who are committed to executing at the highest level and I think that's what the fifth varsity shows."
 
San Diego Crew Classic Sunday Race Schedule
 
9:58 a.m.: Men's Collegiate Varsity 8+ Cal Cup Grand Final (Freshmen 8+)
10:22 a.m.: Men's Collegiate 2V8+ Grand Final (4V8+)
11:18 a.m.: Men's Open 8+ Anderson Borthwick Memorial Trophy Grand Final (4V8+/Freshmen 8+)
 
Pac-12 Challenge Sunday Race Schedule
 
9:00 a.m.: Cal V8+ vs. Syracuse V8+
9:30 a.m.: Cal 2V8+ vs. Syracuse 2V8+
10:10 a.m.: Cal 3V8+ vs. Cal 5V8+
 
San Diego Crew Classic Saturday Results
 
Men's Collegiate Varsity 8+ Cal Cup Heat 1
1. Cal – 6:08.593
2. Purdue 1V8+– 6:25.820
3. UC Davis 1V8+ – 6:26.440
4. Sacramento State Rowing Club 1V8+ – 7:15.818
 
Men's Collegiate 2V8+ Heat 1
1. Cal 4V8+ - 6:19.279
2. UC San Diego 2V8+ – 6:26.081
3. Purdue 2V8+ - 6:44.015
4. UC Irvine 2V8+ - 7:11.520
 
Men's Open 8+ Anderson Borthwick Memorial Trophy Heat
1. Cal Freshmen 8+ – 6:10.818
2. Cal 4V8+ - 6:25.798
3. LA Rowing Club – 6:50.969
4. UC Santa Barbara – 6:55.007
5. UC Davis – 7:02.424
6. UC Santa Barbara – 7:08-840
7. UC Santa Barbara – 8:30.750
 
Pac-12 Challenge Saturday Results
 
V8+
1. Cal – 5:41.9
2. Wisconsin – 5:57.2
 
1. Cal – 5:44.0
2. La Salle – 6:03.7
 
2V8+
1. Cal – 5:49.4
2. Wisconsin – 6:09.0
 
1. Cal - 5:51.9
2. La Salle - 6:12.5
 
3V8+
1. Cal – 5:54.9
2. Wisconsin – 6:16.5
 
1. Cal - 6:00.7
2. Oregon State - 6:20.6
 
5V8+
1. Cal – 6:07.0
2. Oregon State 3V8+ – 6:16.3
 
1. Cal - 6:04.5
2. Wisconsin 3V8+ - 6:18.4
 
San Diego Crew Classic Saturday Lineups
4V8+
Coxswain – Anna O'Reilly
Stroke – Chris Weiss
7 – Dan Bradbery
6 – Owen Keating
5 – Keith Ryan
4 – Alon Gibor
3 - AndrewTreger
2 – Bradley Horvitz
Bow: Nicholas Koudriaev
 
Freshmen 8+
Coxswain - Austin Chen
Stroke - Tomba Morreau
7 - Nemanja Luledzija
6 - BlakeVan Doren
5 – Jack Skinner
4 – Evan Gold
3 – Jeremy Beale
2 – Peter Spira
Bow – William Jett
 
Pac-12 Challenge Saturday Lineups
V8+
Coxswain – Luca Vieira
Stroke: Tommy Barrell
7 – Wilson Morton
6 – Noah Anger
5 – Harry Manton
4 – Tobias Kristensen
3 – Nathan Phelps
2 – Alexander Baroni
Bow: Pablo Moreno
 
2V8+
Coxswain – Iliad Izadi
Stroke- Thomas Heerding
7 – Robbie Prosser
6 – Rory Menzies
5 – Leonard Brahms
4 – Jamie Arnold
3 – Maximilian Pfautsch
2 – Henry Furrer
Bow: Matthew Gallagher
 
3V8+
Coxswain – Ethan Nghiem
Stroke – Farley Dimond-Brown
7 – Bret Holt
6 – Thomas Barbey
5 – Marcus Cameron
4 – Matthew Waddell
3 – Luuk Rodenburg
2 – Oscar Neil
Bow: Kazimir Kujda
 
5V8+ (AM)
Coxswain: Grant Fisher
Stroke: Brody Bottomley
7 – Travis Jorgensen
6 – Tyler Kurth
5 – Giorgio Cecchini
4 – Brady Wojnovich
3 – Walker Reid
2 – Antonio Distefano
Bow – Bennett Browning
 
5V8+ (PM)
Coxswain – Jack DiMarzo
Stroke – Brody Bottomley
7 – Travis Jorgensen
6 – Tyler Kurth
5 – Giorgio Cecchini
4 – Jack Hanson
3 – Fritz Wright
2 – Michael Walker
Bow – Adrian Enders
 
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