FOLSOM, Calif. – The No. 4 California Golden Bears men's rowing team put itself in position to come away with its third straight Pac-12 title heading into the varsity eight race, sitting just five points behind Washington but lost a close race to the Huskies to finish in second place overall at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships at Lake Natoma on Sunday afternoon. The Bears finished with 65 points with the freshmen 8+ coming away with the sole win on the day.
 
The freshmen 8+ opened with the first race of the day and jumped out to a two-seat lead in the opening 20 strokes, however Washington was able to maintain contact through the first 500 meters. The Bears were able to push out to a half-boat lead past the 1,000-meter mark and were able to keep the pressure on and built nearly a full-boat lead over the second half of the race and took first in a time of 05:47.340.
 
In the 3V8+ race, Cal fell behind by nearly a full boat to Washington over the first few hundred meters. The Huskies didn't let up and opened a lead of nearly a full boat of open water by the halfway mark. The Bears were unable to mount a comeback and finished second in a time of 05:56.060.
 
In the V4+ race, Washington jumped ahead by a full boat over the first 20 strokes with Cal rowing in second place after the start. The Huskies quickly extended their lead to over two boat lengths of open water by the halfway mark while the Bears sat comfortably in second place. Cal was able to pull back to within a boat of open water to Washington over the third 500 meters but was unable to get any closer and finished second in a time of 06:38.850.
 
In the battle of the 2V8+, Cal and Washington jumped out to an early lead over the pack in the first few hundred meters with the Huskies just a seat ahead of the Bears. Cal pulled even and went ahead by a seat after the 1,000-meter mark. The Bears and Huskies went back and forth for the lead over the third 500 meters before Washington took a three-seat lead going into the final 500 meters. Cal was unable to mount a comeback and finished second in a time of 05:48.250.
 
In the final race of the day between the V8+ crews, Cal took a three-seat lead over Washington over the first 20 strokes before the Huskies pulled even by the 500-meter mark. Washington pulled ahead by about a boat length by the halfway mark. The Bears walked back a few seats over the third 500 meters but were unable to close out the comeback and got edged out by less than two seconds for second place in a time of 05:42.050.
 
"The guys raced well, but obviously these were not results that we wanted but we made good progress in the last couple of weeks," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "I think the top two crews were definitely better and had some better races within themselves. We just need to get back to work and continue to find the speed as we prepare for the IRA."
 
The Bears will now have the next two weeks off to prepare for the IRA national championships at Mercer Lake in New Jersey starting May 31.  
 
Final Standings
 
1. Washington – 72 points
2. California – 65 points
3. Oregon State – 47 points
4. Stanford – 42 points
 
Race Results
 
V8+
1. Washington - 05:40.250
2. California - 05:42.050
3. Stanford - 05:54.010
4. Oregon St - 06:07.940
 
2V8+
1. Washington - 05:45.790
2. California - 05:48.250
3. Stanford - 06:02.440
4.Oregon St - 06:16.430
 
3V8+
1. Washington - 05:45.650
2. California - 05:56.060
3. Oregon St - 06:09.640
 
Freshmen 8+
1. California - 05:47.340
2. Washington - 05:49.820
 
V4+
1. Washington - 06:34.880
2. California - 06:38.850
3. Oregon St - 06:49.080
4. Stanford - 06:51.290
 
Lineups
V8+
Coxswain: Luca Vieira
Stroke: Tommy Barrell
7: Wilson Morton
6: Tobias Kristensen
5: Harry Manton
4: Noah Anger
3: Robbie Prosser
2: Alexander Baroni
Bow: Pablo Moreno
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Iliad Izadi
Stroke: Tomba Morreau
7: Nathan Phelps
6: Jamie Arnold
5: Maximilian Pfautsch
4: Rory Menzies
3: Leonard Brahms
2: Henry Furrer
Bow: Matthew Gallagher
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
Stroke: Thomas Heerding
7: Farley Dimond-Brown
6: Marcus Cameron
5: Matthew Waddell
4: Bret Holt
3: Thomas Barbey
2: Luuk Rodenburg
Bow: Dan Bradbery
 
Freshmen 8+
Coxswain: Austin Chen
Stroke: Travis Jorgensen
7: Blake Van Doren
6: Jeremy Beale
5: Mihajlo Dedic
4: Jack Skinner
3: Evan Gold
2: Namanja Luledzija
Bow: Peter Spira
 
V4+
Coxswain: Anna O'Reilly
4: Giorgio Cecchini
3: Antonio Distefano
2: Kazimir Kujda
1: Florian Unold
 
STAY POSTED
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