SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's crew team faced windy conditions Sunday, performing among some of the nation's best at the San Diego Crew Classic in day two of the regatta. UCSD's novice eight boat finished first in its race, winning the Mission Federal Credit Union Cup, while the Triton varsity eight shell placed fourth in their grand final contest.

"The novice eight win was thrilling," said UCSD head coach Pattie Pinkerton. "We are so proud of our novice eight for winning the championship. And they won from the outside lane, which is impressive in such wind."

The novice eight squad beat out competition from Sonoma State, UC Davis, Long Beach, Mills and UC Santa Barbara to secure the gold with a time of 8:20.49, a full nine seconds ahead of second-finisher Sonoma State.

Pinkerton was very pleased with how all three boats competed today, naming the varsity eight as the Tritons' flagship crew. 

"Each of our boats had start-to-finish races, we were really excited that all our crews raced from 'go' to the finish line. We maintained our pace and competitiveness today," said Pinkerton. "We've been working on putting two halves of a race together and we did that this weekend."

UCSD's varsity eight boat finished fourth in the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Cup grand final with a time of 7:45.32. The Tritons, who finished fifth in the same grand final last year, came in behind UC Santa Barbara and ahead of Orange Coast College in the race today.

The Triton second varsity shell competed in the DII/DIII/Club Petite race, where they finished sixth out of six boats, with a time of 9:03.48.

"We're looking forward to racing Western Washington tomorrow," said Pinkerton. "The conditions will be good, and we'll get a true sense of the gaps."

The Tritons will have a quick turnaround as they prepare to face defending national champion Western Washington tomorrow at 7 a.m.

San Diego Crew Classic- Day Two
April 1, 2012
Mission Bay
San Diego, Calif.

Women's Collegiate DII/DIII/Club Grand Final- San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Cup
1. Humboldt 7:22.18
2. Central OK 7:24.19
3. UCSB "A" 7:25.07
4. UCSD "A" 7:45.32
5. OCC 7:47.81
6. Western Washington 7:49.59

Women's Collegiate DII/DIII/Club Petite
1. Mills 8:18.11
2. Long Beach 8:19.30
3. UCSB "B" 8:24.60
4. UCI 8:34.33
5. UCSB "C" 8:44.95
6. UCSD "B" 9:03.48

Women's Collegiate DII/DIII/Club Novice Final- Mission Federal Credit Union Cup
1. UCSD 8:20.45
2. Sonoma 8:29.23
3. UCD 8:38.94
4. Mills 8:40.83
5. Long Beach 8:50.81
6. UCSB 9:04.70