MEN’S CREW ‘mdash; If you ask any rower, they’ll tell you that spring is the most exciting time of the year. As one of few collegiate sports that athletes practice year round, fall season is dedicated to building rowers’ technical proficiency while improving strength and endurance so that by the time spring racing season rolls around, athletes are primed ‘mdash; not to mention eager ‘mdash; to show their hard work and finally face their competitors.
In a sport where all battles take place on the water, spring races are the most important selection criteria for the post-season invitation rowing championships.’
Racing in the San Diego Crew Classic, held on April 4 and 5 at Mission Bay, the varsity eight boat stole the spotlight with a first-place finish in the grand final, capturing the Cal Cup.
‘From day one in October of this season we focused on the big races in the spring, including the [San Diego] Crew Classic,’ sophomore Justin Gordon said. ‘Our new training regiment over the last six months prepared us to be very competitive this spring and it was validated with our win at Crew Classic. ‘hellip; Everyone wants the same thing, to win the [Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships]. We trust that the other eight people in our boat are willing to put themselves through hell to achieve that. This year we have the potential to be the most successful crew UCSD has ever seen and that has been providing great motivation for the team.’
Originally told that they weren’t competitive enough to be legitimate challengers, the Tritons shattered that judgment once they hit the water. Shadowing Sacramento State University during the first 500 meters, UCSD was able to draw even by the halfway point before it pulled away in the third quarter to coast to victory with a final time of 6:28.18. Left to follow in the Tritons’ wake were crosstown rival University of San Diego (6:31.04) in second, Orange Coast College (6:36.04) in third, Santa Clara University (6:36.75) in fourth and Sacramento State (6:37.16) in fifth. Bringing up the rear was UCLA with a time of 6:40.51.’ ‘ ‘
‘One of the strong points on our team this year that really makes our boats move aggressively is the competitiveness that we have within our own program,’ senior co-captain Jonathan Lynch said. ‘In practice, each boat attempts to win everything from the warm-up to the cool down. We are never satisfied. Every piece, and every drill throughout practice, we always want to beat each other by more than the last time. Practicing with this mentality really allows us to come into race day mentally prepped for the challenge we have at hand.’
The winning varsity eight crew consisted of junior Andrew Hilton, senior co-captain Ryan Andre, junior Jay Dee Morgan, senior Jeff Collett, sophomore Kris Grey, freshman Nathan Morgan, junior Karam Badran, Gordon and junior coxswain Cameran Biltucci.
Rewardingly, the varsity eight boat’s prevailing first place finish secures it a spot in next year’s prestigious Copley Cup. The Tritons, who appeared in the Copley Cup in 2008 after a victory in the Cal Cup in 2007, were strangely not
invited back to the event this year.
‘From the beginning, we were in a shadow of doubt from the rowing community,’ Gordon said. ‘Instead of being in the Copley Cup, we were in the Cal Cup and we were seeded behind crews we had already beaten earlier in the season. We attacked each race with the goal to prove to everyone, including ourselves, that UCSD is a legitimate contender this year and we plan on doing very well. We basically wanted to make the Crew Classic committee check themselves and feel bashful for doubting us.’
After the day’s results, it is unlikely that anyone will doubt the Tritons again this season. Equally impressive was UCSD’s junior varsity eight ‘A’ squad, who also seized a first-place finish competing in the petite final. Crossing the finish line at 6:28.70, the Tritons glided ahead of UC Davis (6:34.27), Santa Clara University (6:30.04), UCLA (6:40.27) and the University of Colorado (6:41.85).
This weekend, the Tritons are back on the water as they take part in the 44th annual regatta in Newport Beach. UCSD will then shoot for a sixth straight San Diego City Championship on April 19 at Mission Bay.’
‘Given the results from our previous races with USD and OCC, we are expecting to do very well,’ Gordon said. ‘This weekend we have the opportunity to make a strong statement going into the last couple weeks of training before our conference championships. Hopefully we send out a clear message that we mean business and everyone else will be racing for second.’
Readers can contact Brianna Lee at [email protected].