NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - UC San Diego men's crew, racing against the likes of UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis and the University of Southern California, placed 12th, 14th and 21st in the open eight race at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival Sunday.

"We were a little slower than I would have liked," UCSD head coach Zach Johnson said. "But it served as more of a tuneup race for our team."

The Tritons raced with even boats, meaning the coaches tried to spread the squad's talent equally across the boats. In the racing field on Newport Harbor, a total of 30 boats competed. The top boat for the Tritons finished with a time of 15:20.62 while the other two posted marks of 15:28.05 and 15:57.11. Berkeley placed the best out of any school, taking the first, third, fifth and seventh places.

The Rowing Festival concludes UCSD's fall season. Next up will be the San Diego City Championships on Feb. 27 at Mission Bay.

"We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores so we're looking for them to step up in terms of leadership as we head toward the spring schedule," Johnson said.