Varsity Crew wins petite final after mishap in preliminary heats



San Diego, California, - April 1, 2007 – The Trojan Navy suffered a rare mishap when a member of the crew caught a crab in the late stages of the preliminary heats of the San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday. The error cost the Varsity Crew a place in the grand finals.

With the shell stalled, USC fell out of range of UC San Diego and slipped behind the University of Minnesota in the final quarter of the 2000m boat-race. Despite a valiant effort to overcome the mistake, the Trojans finished third in the seven-boat heat, relegating the Trojans to the Petite Final. UCSD went on to win the event while USC had to be consoled with an easy victory in the petite final, meaning they placed 7th overall out of 21 universities entered.


The Spirit of Troy was on hand to support the Trojan Navy.

Varsity Coach Joe Richards said the result was a disappointment for his oarsmen. “The San Diego Crew Classic is a prestigious event that everyone wants to perform their best at, so the result is a tough pill to swallow. However, that is what boat-racing is all about. This USC crew has some good base speed and UCSD are in our sights for the Newport Regatta where we next race in two weeks.”

California Cup for Varsity Eights
Grand Final
1. UCSD 6 minutes 30.60 seconds
2. UCLA 6:31.02
3. UC Davis 6:32.73
4. LeHigh 6:35.35
5. Orange Coast 6:42.12
6. Minnesota 6:45.77

Petite Final
1. USC 6:23.20
2. U. San Diego 6:25.89
3. Notre Dame 6:27.71
4. Sac State 6:28.39
5. LMU 6:32.55
6. Long Beach St 6:35.40

3rd Level Final
1. UC Irvine 6:51.80
2. Texas 6:55.33
3. Wash State 6:58.99
4. Sonoma St 7:03.37
5. Cal L/W 7:07.23
6. UCSB 7:15.22

The Trojan Navy entered four crews to this year’s Crew Classic, including a Junior Varsity Crew for the first time since the program was reformed in 1999. The freshly formed Trojan JV Crew finished fourth in its preliminary heat and second in the petite final.

Collegiate Junior Varsity Eights
Petite Final
1. U. San Diego 6:42.80
2. USC 6:49.03
3. Minnesota 6:51.46
4. Santa Clara 6:51.95

USC entered crews in both the Novice A and B events in San Diego. USC ‘A’ finished fourth in the petite final (10/21 overall). “We had some illness in the crew a week before the races and coach lightened up the work outs,” said novice captain Ryan Moore. “I think we just lost our edge going into the regatta. We now need to get our confidence back as a crew and be ready for our next race in two weeks.”

Collegiate Novice Eights
Petite Final
1. Wash State 6:28.86
2. UCSD 6:32.13
3. Colorado 6:38.87
4. USC 6:39.01
5. LMU 6:41.89
6. UC Irvine 6:50.51

The Novice ‘B’ race was a new event at the San Diego Crew Classic.

Collegiate Novice ‘B’ Eights
Grand Final
1. Orange Coast 6:40
2. UC Davis 6:58.23
3. UCLA 7:06.60
4. UCSD 7:09.81
5. USC 7:12.67
6. Colorado 7:13.79

Adam Fish, captain of the Men’s Crew said that while the overall results felt disappointing, he was encouraged by the development of the team. “Apart the unfortunate mishap the varsity crew performed really well this weekend. We now have a JV Crew on the water and with all our novice oarsmen coming up through the ranks they will only get better each year from here on. The momentum is definitely with our program.”