SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's crew team finished with mixed results as host to the University of San Diego and Gonzaga Friday morning on Mission Bay.

With delayed start times due to fog and limited visibility, the Tritons finished first in one of the three events.

"It was a frustrating week," said UCSD head coach Zach Johnson. "We had great momentum coming off of last weekend, but there has been heavy fog every day this week and we had just a single practice since last Saturday."

In the varsity race, it was a rough start for the Tritons as the coxswains had trouble finding a straight course with no points of reference in the thick fog bank. Within the first 300 meters of the race, the boats were so close together that the blades were interweaving.

Gonzaga was able to jump ahead as the crews were pushing each other to the outside of the lane. Around the mid-point, a minor collision occurred. The Tritons struggled in the clash and fell behind as credit was given to USD.

"The Varsity race was simply bad luck and it was our turn as we got in the middle," said Johnson. "It was nobody's fault, as everyone was trying to find a straight course. The boats just pinched together and the crew had nowhere to go."

"It was just unfortunate," said UCSD coxswain and team captain Sean Dougherty. "It was nobody's fault, we simply got pinched in the middle in the fog and clashed oars. It happens. USD did what they were supposed to do and jumped on us when we got behind. We were able to rebound and get a rhythm for a while, but by that time we were in everyone's wake and couldn't get back into the race."

The UCSD JV boat was able to pull out a slim victory over a charging USD. The Tritons got a lead off the start and held it.

The 3V boat struggled to retain its speed, getting down early to a strong Gonzaga crew. However, the Tritons held on and fought off the Toreros, making up some ground late in the race to take second.

"I have faith our athletes will take the loss in stride and keep working," said Johnson. "Gonzaga will definitely be the team to beat this year, but hopefully we should be pushing them when we see them at the conference championships in April."

The Tritons take a break from competition until April 6-7 when they host the two-day San Diego Crew Classic.

Varsity 
Gonzaga - 6:11.7
USD - 6:14.8
UC San Diego - 6:18.2

JV 
UC San Diego - 6:22.4
USD - 6:23.8
Gonzaga - 6:32.2

3V 
Gonzaga - 6:24.8
UC San Diego - 6:30.2
USD - 6:31.2

-- UCSDtritons.com --