The Tritons men’s crew team assaulted crosstown rivals San Diego State and University of San Diego on April 17 at the San Diego City Championships in Mission Bay. UCSD swept all five of the events in which its boats raced.
“One of our goals on the coaching staff this season was to win every race at the City Championships,” first-year head coach Mark Davis said.
The men’s varsity eight opened the contest by tearing away from San Diego State with a time of six minutes, 29 seconds flat versus the Aztecs second-place finish at 6:36.43.
“I thought we had a pretty good race,” senior co-captain Eric Hardeman said. “We were close for the first 1,000 [meters], but we pulled away.”
Due to constantly changing tidal conditions, crew racing times are difficult to compare, so although the April 17 splits for the Tritons were not the fastest of the season, the performance was still considered stellar.
“It seemed like we were rowing against the current,” Hardeman said. “We were able to hold a higher stroke rating than in previous races and we were smoother in the water. At the [San Diego] Crew Classic, our stroke rating was around 33 to 34 [strokes per minute], but at the City Championships, we were up to 35 or 36.
The men’s junior varsity eight outstroked two San Diego State boats by several lengths, taking only 6:31.65 to complete the 2,000-meter course and leaving the first Aztec eight almost a full 10 seconds in the wake at 6:41.27. The second SDSU boat crossed the finish line more than half a minute later at 7:07.11.
Even the Triton men’s novice eight boat handled the rival competition completely, dismissing the Aztec novice boat by more than 10 seconds in a 6:49.29-to-7:00.36 race.
The varsity four race was the second challenge of the day for many UCSD rowers, who were also entered in the earlier, varsity eight competition.
“We were happy, especially in the fours, where people were doubling up and winning some close races,” Davis said.
UCSD edged out San Diego State by barely two seconds in the smaller boat, finishing in 7:01.1, versus the Aztec four which bit at the heels of the Triton boat with a time of 7:03.19. Rounding out the race was University of San Diego more than thirty seconds out of first, posting a time of 7:28.19.
In the final men’s race of the morning, the UCSD novice four boat beat San Diego State by less than one second in 7:28.35 to the Aztec 7:29.01.
The City Championships marked the second of three crucial events in the Tritons’ 2004 season, the first being the April 4 San Diego Crew Classic, where the Tritons finished third in the Grand Finals. The final test of the Tritons’ abilities under Davis will take place May 1 and May 2 at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Lake Natoma. UCSD will vie for a medal against the nation’s best rowing schools.
“We are a potential top-three team in WIRA, but where — I don’t know.” Davis said. “I think we can race with anybody.”
Prior to the WIRA Championship, UCSD will travel to the Newport Invitational on April 25 to round out the regular season in Newport Harbor, Calif.
“We are right where we need to be,” Hardeman said. “The team is going after Orange Coast College, because the Crew Classic wasn’t our best race of the season, and they beat us there. We are working hard to beat them.”
Orange Coast beat the Tritons by nine seconds at the San Diego Crew Classic.
