SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's and women's crew teams competed against the country's finest on an overcast opening day of the 39th Annual San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday. The Triton women's varsity eight, men's novice eight and men's second varsity eight squads all captured second-place finishes, seeing them through to grand final races on Sunday. 

The women's varsity eight shell raced in a tight field with the likes of Central Oklahoma, Western Washington, Mills College, UCSB and Chapman. With 500 meters left, the Tritons broke away from the pack to chase frontrunner Central Oklahoma. UCSD ended up edging defending national champion Western Washington's "B" boat to finish second in the heat, clocking a time of 7:25.43. The Tritons will go on to vie for the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Cup in the grand final race on Sunday. The UCSD "B" boat also competed in the heat, finishing sixth, more than 20 seconds ahead of Chapman.

The UCSD women also raced in the Carley Copley Cup, where their novice eight boat finished fifth of seven entrants. The Tritons came in between British Columbia and Royal Air Force boats, recording a time of 7:51.58.

On the men's side, the Tritons secured two second-place finishes in their four races. The novice eight boat put together an impressive performance, beating out Orange Coast College's "A" boat by one second. Cal won the race at 6:05.5, with UCSD trailing the Golden Bears at 6:24.18. The Triton novice eight boat will go on to compete for the Derek Guelker Memorial Cup in tomorrow's action.

UCSD's men also captured a second-place finish in the Joan Ward Memorial Men's Open B heat. The Tritons came in five seconds behind the heat's winner, USC, for a time of 6:39.45. UCSD will go on to compete for the Joan Ward Memorial trophy on Sunday.

The UCSD men's varsity eight boat finished fifth in the regatta's pretigious Copley Cup A heat. The Tritons, facing such stalwart opponents as Harvard, Navy, Cornell and British Columbia, rowed hard but could not qualify for tomorrow's grand final. UCSD finished the race with a time of 6:14.588.

UCSD's second varsity was the other boat on the men's side that did not qualify for a grand final race. The Triton shell finished in the middle of the pack, clocking in at 6:27.80. The UC Davis second varsity boat edged the Tritons by three-tenths of a second for third place, recording a time of 6:27.51.

There will be petite finals and consolation races for those crews that did not qualify for grand final races on Sunday at Mission Bay, where the second day of action will continue at the San Diego Crew Classic. 

San Diego Crew Classic- Day One
March 31, 2012
Mission Bay
San Diego, Calif.

MEN

Copley Cup, A- Varsity Eight
1. Harvard 5:55.043
2. Navy 5:57.448
3. Cornell 6:01.183
4. British Columbia 6:06.978
5. UCSD 6:14.588

Derek Guelker Memorial Cup, A- Novice Eight
1. Cal 6:05.05
2. UCSD 6:24.18
3. OCC "A" 6:25.69
4. Santa Clara 6:48.12
5. Sonoma St. 6:53.28
6. Long Beach St. 6:54.19
7. USC 7:11.43

Sharp Cabrillo Cup, B- Second Varsity
1. Harvard 5:58.70
2. Cornell 6:04.41
3. UCD 6:27.51
4. UCSD 6:27.80
5. USD 6:35.05
6. UCLA 6:37.24
7. OCC 6:46.14

Joan Ward Memorial Trophy, B- Men's Open
1. USC 6:34.69
2. UCSD 6:39.45
3. USD 6:45.38
4. UCSB "B" 6:53.45
5. Lincoln Park 6:58.21

WOMEN

San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Cup, A- Varsity Eight
1. Central OK 7:14.69
2. UCSD "A" 7:25.43
3. Western Washington 7:27.40
4. Mills 7:27.42
5. UCSB "C" 7:49.35
6. UCSD "B" 7:51.31
7. Chapman 8:13.23

Carley Copley Cup, A- Novice Eight
1. UCLA 7:17.28
2. BMA 7:21.30
3. USD 7:22.78
4. British Columbia 7:23.33
5. UCSD 7:51.58
6. RAF 8:25.73
7. UCI 8:27.23

Carley Copley Cup, B- Novice Eight
1. Temple 6:56.46
2. Cal 7:00.52
3. Union BC 7:05.94
4. Miami 7:23.04
5. Colorado RC 7:26.85
6. SDSU 7:26.99
7. UCSD "B": 8:47.94