San Diego, CA: The Trojan Navy enjoyed a return to the grand finals of the California Cup at the San Diego Crew Classic held on Mission Bay over the weekend.

The San Diego Crew Classic is the largest multi-laned regatta for Eights in the United States. The event showcased more than 3,400 athletes ranging from juniors to Olympians.

The two-day event began on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and concluded Sunday at 2 p.m. USC's Varsity Eight boat, which last appeared in a grand final in 2003 and is currently ranked tied for 26th in the preseason men’s collegiate poll, finished sixth out of 19 college teams.

USC competed in the men's Varsity Eight and JV Eight events at the regatta.
The varsity crew of cox Emily Chin, stroke Adam Fish, Lee McAuliffe, Ryan Steers, Bryan Barrett, Alan Thesenvitz, Kevin Lorell, William Morris and Sterling Brisbin qualified for the grand final by finishing second out of six crews in the second of three preliminary heats on Saturday.

California Cup: Preliminary Heat
1. Minnesota 6:18.60
2. USC 6:22.71
3. Washington St. 6:24.27
4. UCLA 6:25.53
5. UCSB 6:32.52
6. Sacramento St. 6:40.01

In the grand final USC began strong and were in a comfortable second place after the first 500m of the 2000m final. However, the competition caught the Trojans in the latter half of the race and USC finished sixth in a close finish between the last four boats. “This crew has plenty of proven boat speed,” said varsity coxswain Emily Chin. “But we are made up of three novices and six sophomores and it is obvious we now must focus on conditioning over the next few weeks.”

California Cup: Varsity Grand Final
1. Trinity 5:58.5
2. Minnesota 6:03.73
3. Gonzaga 6:09.79
4. Colorado 6:10.04
5. California Club 6:11.05
6. USC 6:11.76

The Trojans also raced in the 2nd varsity event in San Diego. Finishing fifth in the preliminary heats on Saturday the Trojan JV crew faced strong local California competition in the petite final. The USC crew comprised of coxswain Melissa Mansfield, stroke Paul Idzikowski, Peter Mullin, Taylor Coats, Cody Oleson, Tommy Simoneau, John Pucinelli, John Brown and Zach Franklin finished fourth.

JV Petite Final
1. UC Davis 6:33.17
2. UC San Diego 6:40.95
3. UCLA 6:43.66
4. USC 6:45.48
5. UCI 6:50.09
6. Minnesota 6:54.00

Next up for the Trojan Navy is a dual race with Loyola Marymount University to be held on Saturday, April 9 in the Port of Los Angeles.