SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Santa Clara men's rowing had its Varsity 8 boat finish in third place and Novice 8 boat finish in fourth place at the San Diego Crew Classic Saturday and Sunday in Mission Bay. The Varsity 8 boat also one its heat as the second event of the weekend Saturday morning.
"We had a very solid weekend ... This is one of the best performances on the men's side in many years," head coach Jay Farwell said.
VARSITY 8
Men's Collegiate Varsity Heat B - 1st Place (6:23.82)
The Varsity 8 boat posted a time of 6:23.82 in its heat, outracing Orange Coast, SDSU, UC Davis, Sonoma State and Illinois. Santa Clara overcame a slow start to finish in first place by 0:00.18.
"During the qualifying race, the boat did not get off the line quickly and we had to come from behind in the last 150 meters of the race to clip Orange Coast," Farwell said. "We were pleased with the effort to come back through a very good Orange Coast crew to take the top spot in the heat.
Men's Collegiate Varsity Grand Final - 3rd Place (6:16.52)
Santa Clara came in third place with a time of 6:16.52 in the Grand Final Sunday morning. The race was an all-California affair, with UCSB winning on the strength of a 6:09.22 time, narrowly edging San Diego at 6:09.84.
"In the final, we were fortunate to receive another Lane 1 assignment, and came off the line better than in the heat and maintained second place form the first half of the race behind San Diego," Farwell said. "We knew UCSB was going to be fast and in the last half of the race they had a really strong finish to take the Cal Cup. While disappointed with the result, this result will now fuel the guys over the next six weeks in preparation for the Western Sprints (IRA qualifier)."
NOVICE 8
Men's Collegiate Novice Heat B - 6:53.91 - 2nd Place
Men's Collegiate Novice Grand Final - 6:38.18 - 4th Place
The Broncos finished 0:08.24 behind heat winners Orange Coast Saturday and took fourth place in the Grand Final on Sunday.
"The Novice 8 had a great weekend of racing," Farwell said. "Considering that we have five freshmen in the first boat, this group really performed well and came up with a great fourth place finish. This boat has really come a long way and a few of the true novices in this boat really stepped up and are beginning to understand how to compete in this sport."
2ND VARSITY 8
Men's Collegiate 2V Heat C - 6:50.07 - 4th Place
Men's Collegiate 2V Petite Final - 7:00.98 - 6th Place
"It was a very tough weekend finishing sixth in the petite final. It was important for this group to get more racing experience but the end result was that this boat really struggled to click," Farwell said.
UP NEXT
The Broncos compete at the Stanford Invitational at Redwood Shores in Redwood City, Calif. April 11-12. It is the crew's last event before the Western Sprints (IRA Qualifier) May 16.
