PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 2 California men's rowing team won four of its six races at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday morning on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, New Jersey. The Golden Bears' first varsity eight and third varsity eight each won their two races, while the second varsity eight took second place in the morning session and fell to the hosting Tigers in a dual in the afternoon session.
 
The Bears started strong with a win in the varsity eight race over No. 5 Brown, No. 9 Syracuse and No. 11 Yale. Yale shot out from the blocks strong, but Cal quickly took control of the lead as it moved through the first 500 meters. The Bears pulled out to a three-seat lead over Yale at the midway point, powering through the rougher conditions of the course's midsection. Cal opened up to a boat-length advantage, but a late surge from Yale saw the two boats have contact in the final section of the course. Cal maintained its composure and forged ahead to victory, finishing nearly a boat-length ahead of Yale in the end with a 6:08.09 time.
 
In the second varsity eight race, Cal and Syracuse were neck-and-neck through the first 500 meters. The Orange pulled ahead to a lead, but the Bears maintained contact through the entire length of the course. Syracuse finished just 3.6 seconds ahead of Cal in second place.
 
The third varsity eight got the Bears back in the win column to close out the morning session. Cal jumped out to an early lead and stayed out in front as the crews moved down the course. The Bears held off a late charge from the Orange to take a three-second win over Syracuse in the end.
 
Cal and Princeton went head-to-head for three tightly contested duals in the afternoon session, with the Bears claiming victory in two of the three races. The varsity eight continued to pace the squad with a win and the program's best time of the day in the first race. Cal won the start and got a slight advantage as the 500-meter mark approached. The Bears looked solid through the second 500 meters of the course and pulled ahead to an eight-seat lead. Cal took a slight open-water advantage at the midway point of the race and held off the Tigers through the final sprint to clinch the win by just over two seconds with a final time of 5:53.058.
 
The second varsity eight dropped its race against the Tigers, finishing three seconds behind Princeton in a tight competition down the stretch of the course. The Bears' third varsity eight responded with a nearly three-second win over the Tigers in the final race of the day.
 
"I'm proud of how all the crews raced today," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "In a race format like this in challenging conditions, you learn a lot about how crews race and what needs to get better. It was definitely a very valuable weekend of racing for us, and we have another great race against Yale tomorrow morning to look forward to. I thought the varsity eight showed up really well today. They had a gritty, physical race this morning and took another good step forward this afternoon."
 
Cal will return to the waters tomorrow to square off with Yale in a dual on Lake Carnegie.
 
RESULTS
Morning Session
V8+
1. Cal – 6:06.089
2. Yale – 6:10.925
3. Brown – 6:13.737
4. Syracuse – 6:16.977
 
2V8+
1. Syracuse – 6:15.933
2. Cal – 6:19.537
3. Brown – 6:24.777
4. Yale – 6:36.383
 
3V8+
1. Cal – 6:21.053
2. Syracuse – 6:24.131
3. Yale – 6:37.107
4. Brown – 6:43.333
 
Afternoon Session
V8+
1. Cal – 5:53.058
2. Princeton – 5:55.554
 
2V8+
1. Princeton – 6:01.998
2. Cal – 6:05.196
 
3V8+
1. Cal – 6:08.821
2. Princeton – 6:11.685
 
LINEUPS
V8+
Coxswain: Michael Kain
8. Nemanja Luledzija
7. Tobias Kristensen
6. Pablo Moreno
5. Alexander Baroni
4. Gennaro di Mauro
3. Noah Anger
2. Maximilian Pfautsch
1. Tom O'Sullivan
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
8. Osian James
7. Rory Menzies
6. Tim Roth
5. Matthew Waddell
4. Xavier Gagnon
3. Josh Knight
2. Leo Rosenquist
1. Jeremy Beale
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Austin Chen
8. Mihajlo Dedic
7. Flynn English
6. Dan Bradbery
5. Eddie Bayfield
4. Evan Gold
3. William McClean
2. Thomas Heerding
1. Nat Gauden
 
STAY POSTED
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