LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's crew team will enter three boats in this weekend's Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Sacramento, as the varsity eight looks to earn a spot in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships for the second consecutive season and only the second time in school history. UCSD will have the varsity eight, second varsity eight, and novice eight boats competing, looking to take home the Efficiency Trophy as the program with the best results based on number of boats.
"The varsity boat has had one of the best years as far as results go," head coach Zach Johnson sad. "That being said, this is one of the toughest fields we've ever had. Its going to be very, very close and I can see it going in a number of directions. If we have a great race, then its up to everybody to catch us."
During their most recent competition, in Washington D.C. for the George Washington Invitational, the the 20th-ranked Tritons competed in dual meets with some of the top Division I programs on the East Coast. The varsity and second varsity boats downed Holy Cross, while the second varsity also defeated Georgetown and the varsity eight finished close behind Georgetown and Navy crews.
At the WIRA Championships last season, the performance of just five Triton boats was good enough for a third-place finish overall, as both the varsity and second varsity eight reached their respective Grand Finals, finishing second overall. The varsity eight came in just one second behind Gonzaga during the race with an incredible showing of 6:00.3. The performance earned the Tritons a spot in the IRA Championships for the first-time ever, as both the varsity four and freshman eight boats competed in third level finals and the varsity eight placed fourth in the fourth level final.
Heading into the WIRA Championships after the varsity eight achieved their highest ranking in school history in the USRowing Collegiate Poll, the Tritons are confident of their chances but mindful of the top squads competing at this year's regatta.
"I think the teams to beat are UC Davis, Washington State, and Gonzaga," Johnson added. "We saw Gonzaga earlier in the year, we saw Davis earlier in the year, and we had extremely tight races that could have gone either way. If we're in there at the 1000, it can be anybody's race. I think the biggest thing going into this weekend is that we stay as consistent as possible."
UCSD will look to earn a spot in the IRA Championships, scheduled June 3-5 in Camden, New Jersey.
