The California men's rowing team will open its 2026 campaign this weekend at the California Cup Challenge, hosted by UC Irvine in Newport Beach on Saturday. A pair of young Golden Bear crews will make the trip down south for the season opener, with Cal planning to send the freshmen eight and the fourth varsity eight to race against a variety of top boats from other Southern California programs.
 
The competition format consists of a series of rotating dual races over approximately 1400 meters. Cal's 4V8+ will take the water first to face UC Santa Barbara at 8:10 a.m. PT, before the freshmen eight squares off with host UC Irvine at 8:15 a.m. as part of round one. In round two, the Bears' 4V8+ will race Orange Coast College at 9:45 a.m., with the freshmen eight's head-to-head with UCLA scheduled to immediately follow at 9:50 a.m. Winners of each dual will advance to Round 3 to compete for six trophies, which will be awarded at the conclusion of the regatta around 12:15 p.m.
 
This weekend's competition will be the first glimpse at how the Bears compete against boats other than their own after months of team training and conditioning since the start of the academic year. Cal head coach Scott Fransden has once again assembled a talented roster of oarsmen all competing for seats to represent the Blue & Gold out on the waters this season.
 
"I'm pleased with how the squad has pushed through the training over the past 6-7 months," Frandsen said. "We've been working to establish our depth through the entire team and to really embed the framework of how we row. The focus, enthusiasm and persistence has been outstanding. We are now in the phase of the year where we are starting to test out different lineups and see if we can find crews that can really click."
 
Cal has its eye firmly focused on the 2026 IRA Championship after the Bears finished third as a team in the James Ten Eyck standings at the national championships last season. Cal returns a solid contingent of rowers from last year's squad, including five from the first varsity eight crew from the IRA Championships in Tobias Kristensen, Tim Roth, Gennaro di Mauro, Noah Anger and Pablo Moreno.
 
Several Bears returned to Berkeley with new international experience under their belts with eight Cal rowers on the 2026 roster competing for their respective countries at the World U23 Championships this past summer in Poznan, Poland. Five Bears brought home medals from the world stage. Moreno earned a silver for Spain in the men's four while Matthew Waddell took silver with New Zealand in the men's eight and Anger, Johannes Benien and Maximilian Pfautsch helped Germany to the bronze. Jeremy Beale (Australia), Xavier Gagnon (United States), Osian James (Great Britain) and Nat Gauden (Great Britain) also took the water for their respective countries.
 
"There is always a bit of impatience in this part of the year as the guys all want to get to the heart of our racing schedule," Frandsen said. "We need to bring that same intensity and focus to each day of training and each step towards those big races. We can't get ahead of ourselves and look too many steps down the path."
 
California Cup Challenge – Saturday, Feb. 28
8:10 a.m. – Cal 4V8+ vs. UCSB 1V8+
8:15 a.m. – Cal Freshmen 8+ vs. UC Irvine 1V8+
9:45 a.m. – Cal 4V8+ vs. OCC 1V8+
9:50 a.m. – Cal Freshmen 8+ vs. UCLA 1V8+
*All times PT
 
Spectators are encouraged to set up on the beach near the Marina Park Community Center lighthouse to best observe and listen to race audio and announcing. Fans unable to attend in person can watch the live stream here or follow along via live results here.
 
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