LA JOLLA, Calif. - UC San Diego women's crew kicks off their spring season on Saturday at Mission Bay with the San Diego City Championships. An event that usually takes place later in the season, the Tritons will nonetheless look to compete and improve as they head into the heart of their season.
"This weekend we face to very strong scholarship programs that usually excel early," said head coach Pattie Pinkerton. "We will then be treating this as a rehearsal for our more traditional opener, next weekend [at the UC San Diego Regatta] against Long Beach State, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara."
Last season, the UCSD women's rowing team competed against many of the top teams in country, participating in the Berg Cup, Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, and Pacific Coast Rowing Championships. The Tritons also recorded their top finish of the season for the varsity eight at the UC Irvine/Long Beach State Regatta, finishing second behind UC Irvine. UCSD also won 38 medals with 28 women competing at the season ending PCR Championships.
"We graduated nine seniors last year. Although we have a strong core of returners, we lack depth. We're a young team, and I expected this to be a developmental year," said Pinkerton. "However, our rookies and recruits have really stepped up. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and have continually been improving."
The Tritons were able to demonstrate their early season fortitude at the San Diego Fall Classic, with the varsity eight going head-to-head with San Diego State, finishing in 22:41.0. The varsity four boat also recorded a fourth place finish and the two novice eight boats competing placed fifth and sixth during the event at the close of the fall season.
"I'll be watching to see if we can execute under pressure. The team has looked great in practices," said Pinkerton of what she's seen thus far. "Anything is possible."
The Tritons will follow the San Diego City Championships with the UCSD Regatta on Saturday, March 6. Both events are scheduled to begin at 7 a.m.
