Men’s varsity crew proved that it could overcome the adversity of midseason obstacles with what UCSD head coach Michael Filippone described as “”solid performances across the board,”” at this weekend’s Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Finals in Sacramento. All of the boats entered surpassed boats that had beaten the Tritons earlier in the year to reclaim UCSD’s championship reputation.
The main success story of the weekend was the varsity four. Comprised of the top rowers on the team, the boat was stroked by freshman Eric Kuhle, followed by Scott Destafney, Dan Toth, Leo Shook, and coxed by Shannon Oliver. The boat won the finals with a time of 6:34.4, six seconds ahead of second place finisher SDSU, which had defeated the Tritons earlier in the season.
“”It was great to see a varsity boat come out on top,”” Filippone said.
All three novice boats came back to San Diego with bronze medals. The novice lightweight four finished the race with a time of 7:16.2, only nine seconds behind the winner Cal Lights, beating both UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis.
The second novice eight came in third with a time of 6:39.7, behind close rival Orange Coast College, but beating the Aztecs by over 30 seconds.
Only 10 seconds behind leader Orange Coast College, the first UCSD novice eight boat was able to overcome UC Irvine in a close finish with a time of 6:20.7.
“”It would have been nice to win the novice races, but it is nice to see solid and consistent performances by all three boats. It is a great sign of the future of our program,”” Filippone said.
The Triton varsity crew came away from the weekend demonstrating that it has the speed to compete at the championship level with a solid performance in the varsity eight and a win in the varsity four.
“”It is great to prove that we could overcome the problems in the middle of the season. Our racing ability this weekend shows all that we have accomplished in the season,”” Filippone said.
The varsity eight came in third in the petite final with a time of 6:22.6, behind only USD and University of Puget Sound. The Tritons were able to beat both Irvine and SDSU, teams that had been a challenge in the weeks leading up to WIRA Finals.
“”The success of the varsity eight just shows that by sticking with the same lineup, we have the ability get good speed and be competitive at the end of the season when it counts,”” Filippone said.
Overall, the solid performances by all UCSD boats at the WIRA Finals showed that the Triton men had the ability to overcome injuries and disappointing races, and find the speed to be top competitors.
“”The results of the weekend were great, but most of all, it was good to see a bunch of kids out rowing. It showed the competitive and high quality athletes in the program and the enjoyment they get from the sport,”” Filippone said.
