Trojans return Norris Cup to Troy in halted race.

November 6, 2007 – Port of Los Angeles, CA – The busiest port in the nation brought its operations to a halt for twenty minutes at 11AM on Saturday morning so that USC could host the National Collegiate Club Rowing Championships.



But it all proved in vain when Arizona State’s Crew failed to show up on time for the championship three-mile boat race, a contest from the outer harbor of San Pedro to USC Boathouse in Wilmington.

With San Diego State, UC Berkeley and USC lined and ready to race, Regatta chief and USC Head Coach Gene Kininmonth had to make the difficult choice of either starting the race with the waterways clear or wait for Arizona State to make it to the line and risk having the race halted due to maritime traffic.

“We decided to wait and it cost us the regatta,” said Kininmonth.

“It was amazing, we were sitting on the start line and it was like the entire port had just stopped for us,” said Trojan senior Nicholas Babikian. “But when the race finally did get underway it was too late. Someone had flicked the switch back on and ships began pouring out of all the basins.”



The Race Umpire was forced to halt all crews as a safety precaution two miles into the three-mile race just east of Vincent Thomas Bridge, where the channel was blocked by a 900-foot supertanker being maneuvered by two tugs. “We learned a lesson and in future there will be no waiting under any circumstances,” said Kininmonth.

Race officials determined final results by the position of crews at the time the race was stopped. Since USC was leading by a convincing margin of four boat-lengths over second-place California there could be little doubt of who deserved the victory.

RESULTS: National Collegiate Club Championships

Winners awarded the Kenneth Norris Memorial Cup
1. USC
2. UC Berkeley
3. Arizona State
4. San Diego State

The USC Trojans
2007 National Collegiate Club Champions
Cox Charlotte West
Stroke Lee McAuliffe
7. Adam Fish
6. Nicholas Babikian
5. Peter Mullin
4. Ryan Hasvold
3. Enne Lorenzo
2. Jordan Mirrer
bowman Chad Riddersen

With the win the Kenneth Norris Memorial Cup returns to Troy from Long Beach State, last year’s winners. USC have now won the Norris Cup in three of the four years since the race began in 2004.

The Norris Cup will be engraved with each of the names of the winning crew and then go on display at the offices of the Norris Foundation in Long Beach, CA.