LA JOLLA, Calif. - With a one-week bicoastal turnaround, the UC San Diego men's crew team will return to Pacific waters this weekend to face west coast foes at the Pac-12 Invitational. The Tritons will race a series of duals, competing against No. 9 Stanford, Oregon State, and either Orange Coast College during the two-day contest.

"We're where we want to be," said Triton head coach Zach Johnson. "This is the last stretch of strong, nationally-ranked competition before the WIRA Championships."

UCSD will race three boats against this weekend's competitors, comprised of varsity eight, JV eight and novice eight crews. The Triton squads will have their work cut out for them, as Stanford is ranked 9th nationally and Oregon State is receiving votes in the CRCA/US Rowing Coaches Poll.

Last weekend, the same three UCSD boats dipped into Atlantic drink at the George Washington Rowing Invitational in Washington, D.C. The Tritons finished second in the Oliver T. Carr Bowl, after engaging in dual races against crews from Georgetown, George Washington and Cornell. UCSD finished with more points than each of those universities, and also Holy Cross, to earn silver.

"The JV and novice eights did awesome," said Johnson. "The varsity boat did OK, we tried a new lineup so they didn't have any time to practice. But by the third race, they were showing promise."

The Pac-12 Invitational is the Tritons' last regatta before the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, the top finishers of which will receive automatic berths in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships.

"We've had a pretty daunting schedule, so when we get back to the conference we should get a No. 1 seed and hopefully return to the national championships," said Johnson.

The Pac-12 Invitational will span the weekend of Apr. 14-15 in Redwood Shores, Calif.