April 3, 2003

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men and women's crew will compete at the 30th Annual San Diego Crew Classic this weekend in the Mission Bay located at the Crown Point Shores Park in San Diego, Calif.

The men's novice eight, junior varsity eight and varsity eight will all be racing this weekend with the varsity eight competing in the premier category for the first time. The men's varsity eight received an invitation to participate in the prestigious Copley Cup.

The Copley Cup is comprised of the premier rowing teams at the event each year. This year the men's varsity eight will take on second-ranked Washington, 12th-ranked Stanford, UC Davis and Washington State in its preliminary heat on Saturday morning.

"This is the first time we have been invited to participate in the Copley Cup," said men's head coach Jay Farwell. "This is a pretty big deal for a school like our's, so we are taking the task ahead of us very seriously and we will be competing hard this weekend to prove we belong."

The women are taking two teams down to San Diego this weekend with the varsity eight squad rowing in the Cal Cup and the junior varsity eight rowing in the women's junior varsity division. The varsity eight will be taking on UMass, Louisville, Georgetown, West Virginia, Temple and Southern Oregon in their heat on day one of competition.

"We have trained very hard heading into this competition," said women's head coach Stephanie Shepherd. "We tend to get faster after spring break which is what I am hoping for again, but this weekend will certainly be a good test and good preparation for the upcoming WCC Championships."

Following this weekend's competition in San Diego, the women's crew returns to action on April 19th against California at Redwood Shores. The women will then head to the WCC Championships in Sacramento, Calif., on May 2. Both teams will be in action at the WIRA Championships being held at Lake Natoma on Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4.