NEWPORT BEACH,
Calif. ? The UCSD men's crew continued
the momentum built up at the San Diego Crew Classic with another impressive
showing over the weekend at the 44th Annual Newport Regatta. The varsity eight and JV eight boats each won
their respective races, while the novice four and novice eight placed second
and the varsity four came in third.
The success of the varsity eight boat thus far on the season
meant an increased amount of attention from the competition in Newport. With only a slight headwind with tide going
out and perfectly flat water, all boats pressed during the first 1000 meters,
with the Tritons getting off to a somewhat slow start. UCSD was then able to pull away during the
third 500 meters and held a near boat-length lead over the rest of the field
until the finish line. The Triton varsity eight squad, consisting of
Andrew Hilton, Ryan Andre, Jay Dee Morgan, Jeff Collett, Kris Grey, Nathan
Morgan, Karam Badran, Justin Gordon and coxswain Cameran Biltucci, clocked a winning
time of 6:21.2, with USD coming in second at 6:23.4 and UCLA placing third with
a time of 6:28.6.
“The varsity boat is having one of [our] best seasons. We're feeling good,” said head coach Zach
Johnson following his team's victory. “We're
going into [the WIRA] championships in two weeks. Hopefully we'll qualify for the national
championships. Gonzaga is definitely the
team to beat, and they're the only team we've lost to this year. We just need to assert ourselves.”
The JV eight also got off to a slow start, coming off the
line last. At about the 800 meter mark,
the boat was able to press up and pull even, making their move and taking the lead
at the 1300 meter mark. After breaking
through, the boat was able to secure victory with a boat-length over the rest
of the field and a time of 6:36.6.
The novice four and novice eight each finished second in
their races, with the novice four posting a time of 7:27.8, while the novice
eight clocked in at 6:33.3. The varsity
four placed third after USD and UCLA with a time of 7:25.6.
UCSD will next look to continue their impressive season at the
WIRA Championships, taking place May 2-3 in Rancho Cordova. Start time is scheduled for 7 a.m.
Varsity 8:
UC San Diego
6:21.2
USD 6:23.4
UCLA 6:28.6
OCC 6:33.7
UCI 6:35.8
2nd Varsity 8:
UC San Diego
6:36.6
OCC 6:39.4
UCI 6:43.2
Varsity Four:
USD 7:13.9
UCLA 7:17.3
UCSD 7:25.6
Novice 4:
OCC-A 7:22.2
UCSD 7:27.8
USD 7:42.1
OCC-B 7:42.3
Frosh/Novice 8:
OCC 6:21.8
UCSD 6:33.3
UCSB 6:33.8
USD 6:34.4
UCLA 6:43.1
UCI 6:56.5
2nd Frosh/Novice 8:
OCC 6:15.7
UCLA 6:27.8
UCSB 6:39.9
UCI 6:47.1
