GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's crew team registered a solid performance at day one of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships on Saturday. UCSD's JV eight and novice eight boats did well enough in their heats to advance to Sunday's grand finals, while the varsity eight and second novice eight boats will also receive automatic bids.

"Overall, we raced pretty well today," said UCSD head coach Zach Johnson.

The Triton JV eight boat captured the only victory of the day, beating second-finisher UCSB by nearly ten seconds to secure its spot in the grand final race. UCSD clocked a time of 6:08.5, while the Gauchos came in at 6:17.3. In their impressive performance, the Tritons finished with the fastest time overall on the day in the JV eight field by more than eight seconds.

UCSD's novice eight shell came in behind first place UC Irvine with a time of 6:17.2. UCI finished less than three seconds ahead of the Tritons, at 6:14.7, for the win. 

"Our novice eight was a little disappointing, even though they got the third overall fastest time," Johnson said. "We're hoping they rebound and have a great performance in tomorrow's grand final."

The Tritons' third boat to compete on Saturday was the pair, which finished fourth in its heat and ended up taking first in its petite final race. For its heat time, UCSD finished at 8:06, while first place Humboldt State came in at 7:39.7. The pair boat went on to capture a first place finish in its petite contest, edging second-finisher Pacific by more than three seconds.

UCSD will continue competition on Sunday, when the varsity eight, JV eight, second varsity eight and novice eight boats will compete in their grand final races.

Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships - Day One
April 28, 2012
Gold River, Calif.

JV Eight
1. UCSD 6:08.5
2. UCSB 6:17.3
3. UCI 6:19.1
4. WSU 6:24.9
5. OCC 6:28.6

Novice Eight
1. UCI 6:14.7
2. UCSD 6:17.2
3. LBS 6:35.0
4. HSU 6:37.5
5. SDSU 6:38.4

Pair
1. HSU 7:39.7
2. Chap 7:42.0
3. SDSU 7:54.5
4. UCSD 8:06.0
5. PLU 8:12.4
6. SCU 8:25.1

PETITE FINALS

Pair
1. UCSD 8:02.1
2. PAC 8:05.7
3. PLU 8:16.4
4. LBS 8:24.0