We have been plagued by illness since Spring break and are hoping to find our Trojan fighting spirit by this weekend despite our lack of practicing together.

Races start at 8:20 AM on Mission Bay.  Come out, enjoy the sun and relax at either the USC Alumni Tent sponsored by the USC Men’s Crew Team or the always famous Beer Garden overlooking the race course!

Full details can be found at www.crewclassic.org 

For full recaps of the Spring Break training and Newport Regatta check out our Newsletter Archive!

We will have a couple of athletes doubling up into smaller boats to have a go against some of the local clubs as well.

Any local friends, family, or alumni should make it out Saturday morning for the races!  Races are scheduled to start at 8 am.

In an unusual race schedule the Varsity 8 was the first boat to race.  The team got off to a great start leading from the beginning and by their settle strokes had a full length. By 500 meters in the Trojans had open water and continued to push their lead to greater and greater margins.  At the finish line the Varsity had gained a margin of 17 seconds over the next closest San Diego State Aztecs and even greater margin over Cal State Long Beach.  We are very proud of our efforts today and are excited to build into the rest of the season.

Second Novice 8

In the second race of the day our second novice eight got their feet wet for the first time as racers.  Six out of the eight oarsmen in this boat only just recently joined the team and have only been rowing since mid-January or later.  Unfortunately this inexperience showed as they lost by open water (no overlap between boats) We are very proud of how far they’ve come in such a short period of time and are excited to see how they close the gap as their experience differences close on their opponents.

JV 8

The third race of the day featured a composite of 5 Varsity oarsmen and 3 novice oarsmen to fill out a JV 8.  Having only rowed together for less than a week the Trojans showed a tremendous effort against the Aztecs.  At the start they were down four seats and continued battling and holding the Aztecs at bay.   Coxswain Vanessa Pursel fought against a wild steering opponent and made a huge push coming past the boathouse to make up the gap.  Unfortunately the effort expended earlier in the race was too much to overcome and the Aztecs held their length through the finish.  We are excited to see what two more weeks of practice together will do for this boat when we see the Aztecs again in Arizona!

Novice 8

In the final, and most exciting, race of the day  the novice 8′s went head to head.  Off the start USC fell to the Aztecs and both moved away from Cal State Long Beach.  The Aztecs continued pushing their lead until they had open water at the 1000.  But as the Trojans approached the boathouse they made their push back into the Aztecs to hold strong late into the race.  By 500 to go the Trojans had pulled level and began pushing ahead.  They continued all the way to the finish and took home the win by a seat of open water!

Well fought Trojans!

Huge thanks goes out to the alumni, family and friends who showed up and supported us on the first race of the year.

The team is proud to begin a new season opening tradition between these two teams and will play host this year for the cup race.

USC will be entering a Varsity 8, JV 8, Novice 8 and second Novice 8.

• 10:00 Novice Four
• 10:15 Second Novice Eight
• 10:30 Novice Eight
• 10:45 Varsity Four
• 11:00 JV Eight
• 11:15 Gruenberg Varsity Eight Cup Race

We’re looking forward to seeing all of you out there!  Fight On!

For recaps of November’s races see the November 26th e-newsletter in our newsletter archive here

Tentative Race Schedule

Time Event
7:30 AM Varsity 4+
7:45 AM Novice C
8:00 AM Novice B
8:15 AM Novice A
8:30 AM 2nd Varsity 8
8:45 AM Varsity 8

Come out and join the team for some pulled pork barbecue donated by the parent team before Saturday’s game. Our tent is located just outside McCarthy Quad with the big Men’s Crew sign attached.

Post Homecoming celebrations we will be hosting our second annual Showdown at the Shipyard Sunday morning facing off any challenging alumni against the current oarsmen. We will be re-christening the Ashley Sierra after her renovation by Coach Long-Lerno. There will be breakfast food provided by the team.

Racing starts at 10:30 AM at the port.

Directions to USC Boathouse
110 South
Exit C street
Right onto C street
Left onto Harry Bridge Road
Right onto Avalon
Left onto Water Street
Park and make your way to the boathouse.

The team will race on the San Diego Crew Classic Mission Bay waters and then travel to a public park to meet and eat with their fellow oarsmen.

Come out and join the team as they start the fall off with a blast!
Racing Starts at 8:30 AM
DIRECTIONS:
· Take I-5 South from Los Angeles to San Diego …
· Take Exit #21 = “Sea World/Tecolote Road” …
· Turn right at the end of the Exit ramp …
· Follow road toward “South Shores Boat Ramp” …
· Turn right at South Shores Park (“Boat Ramp”) …
· Park in lot …

Crews will launch from the sandy beach 100 m to the East

We will also be having another pre practice session tomorrow morning at 7:30 just outside of the PED building. We will be going over the basics of the rowing stroke to better prepare you for Monday’s practice!

Anyone who wants more information beforeMonday’s practice should email Head Coach James Long-Lerno at james.longlerno@usc.edu

Everyone is welcome, Alumni, Athletes, Friends and future rowers!

Come out and meet the current members of the team and kick off the 2012-2013 season in style!