RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - UC San Diego men's crew, with medal finishes from its second varsity eight, novice eight and second novice eight boats, took home a third place overall team points trophy on Sunday at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.
The second varsity eight that finished first in its final race, well ahead of second-place UC Davis, featured coxswain Cameran Biltucci, David Payne (stroke), Richard Lund (7-seat), Zachary Hearns (6), Anthony Rubino (5), Brodie Kaster (4), Nathaniel Taylor (3), Dominic Shiosaki (2) and Mark Melikian (bow).
“They pretty much dominated from start to finish,” UCSD head coach Zach Johnson said. “It was great to see them get off to an open-water lead so early on in the race.”
In the day's final men's race, the Tritons' varsity eight finished fifth in the Grand Final out of six boats.
“It was disappointing,” Johnson said, “but we took a risk with a new race strategy. We'll just have to go back to the drawing board there.”
UCSD's novice crew came through with impressive races Sunday. The novice eight took bronze in their race, falling in behind Orange Coast College and Gonzaga but beating the University of San Diego. The second novice eight ended their final in a photo finish, crossing the line right behind OCC to secure silver.
The Tritons also clinched third place in the Championships' Efficiency Rankings, a measure of how well each program does based on the number of boats it has competing.
UCSD men's crew will travel to Worcester, Mass., to compete in the ECAC National Invitational Regatta from May 10-11.
