SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's rowing gets its 2021 season underway Saturday with a race against Washington at the Oakland Estuary in Alameda.

Due to COVID-19, the Broncos raced just twice last year, with the final event coming March 1, 2020 against Orange Coast College. The race with the Huskies will come after just five weeks on the water after the extended break.

The Broncos Varsity 8 will take on Washington's 3rd Varsity 8 and their 2V8 will face the Huskies Freshmen 8. There will also be 4's races.

"We are looking forward to the challenge and are grateful for the opportunity to race against Washington," Santa Clara head coach Jay Farwell said. "They are an incredibly talented crew with loads of depth, so this is going to be a tough start to our season. This spring's schedule is loaded with high caliber competition and compressed into a much tighter timeline than usual."

The team returned to campus in late January and, after a quarantine period, was back on the water in February.

"Since returning, the team has been working hard in preparation for a modified spring schedule," Farwell said. "We welcomed a new group of first-year rowers with guys coming from all across the country and a couple international students. This group has been impactful from the start and has been getting into the swing of campus life as well as the life of a student-athlete. We also have a solid group of returners who bring some needed experience to the team as generally we have a very young team. We are continually encouraged by our team's attitude, work ethic, grit and perseverance on and off the water as well as in the classroom."

After all that has gone on, the Broncos are thankful to those that have allowed them to get back on the water.

"While there have been many challenges over the last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team and coaching staff are grateful to have the opportunity to practice and compete this spring," Farwell said. "This would not have been possible without the efforts and support of many across the Mission campus and specifically the sports medicine department under the leadership of Ryan Holleman, compliance with Ryan Merz, and of course our director of athletics Renee Baumgartner."

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