DAVIS, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's rowing team had its first official race of the season last weekend, competing at the Davis Invitational on March 3. The results were highlighted by second place finishes by Santa Clara's varsity eight and frosh eight squads.
Santa Clara, Stanford, Sonoma State and host UC Davis competed at the Port of Sacramento.
The Port of Sacramento is a challenging course for crews, but Santa Clara head coach Jay Farwell thought his crew performed well.
"The Varsity Eight (I Eight) performed well and posted a very good time for its first race of the season," said Farwell. "Stanford is a top 10 crew and the Varsity Eight provided a solid effort against the Cardinal. The Davis race course (Port of Sacramento) can be a difficult course but all of our coxswains, varsity and novice, did a good job of navigating the course. I was really pleased with the effort of our crew."
Santa Clara's Varsity Eight posted a second place finish behind Stanford, who is a top 10 crew team. The Broncos' Varsity Eight (I Eight) finished in 6:09.04.
The Broncos' Frosh Eight also recorded a second place finish behind Stanford with a time of 6:50.6. The Junior Varsity Eight (II Eight) fell to Stanford, however, it was a mixed crew that had never rowed together.
"Our JV Eight was filled with three novice rowers due to some injuries on the varsity squad," said Farwell. "The mixed boat of varsity and novice rowers performed well considering they had never rowed together."
Santa Clara's Novice Fours finished in third, recording a time of 7:32.3.
"Overall, the men's team performed well at the Davis Invitational," added Farwell. "The guys understand that there is a tremendous amount of work left to do before we head to Sacramento at the end of April for the WIRA Championship."
Santa Clara's next scheduled race is the San Diego Crew Classic held on Apr. 6 and Apr. 7 in San Diego, Calif. Be sure to check back to SantaClaraBroncos.com for a midweek preview and recap of the Santa Clara rowing team.
2013 UC Davis Invite Results
I Eight
1. Stanford - 5:52.7
2. Santa Clara - 6:09.04
3. Sonoma State - 6:26.6
4. UC Davis - 6:31.4
Frosh Eight
1. Stanford - 6:10.6
2. Santa Clara - 6:50.6
4. UC Davis - 7:00.2
II Eight
1. Stanford - 6:05.4
2. Santa Clara - 6:41.3
Four
1. Stanford A - 6:46
2. Stanford B - 6:50
3. UC Davis - 7:20
4. Sonoma State - 7:27
Novice Four
1. Stanford - 6:53.1
2. UC Davis - 7:06.2
3. Santa Clara - 7:32.3
4. Sonoma State - 7:44.4
