SAN DIEGO - The UC San Diego men's and women's rowing programs competed in the San Diego Fall Classic on Mission Bay Sunday, the final event of the fall season for both teams. The men came away with a second place finish.
Other collegiate crews competing alongside UCSD were the University of San Diego, San Diego State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.
"The athletes did a great job in both boats," UC San Diego men's head coach Zach Johnson said. "USD has picked up where they left off last season, and we are working hard to close the gap."
UCSD's "A" crew, which consisted of coxswain Sean Dougherty, John Buda, Scott Kennedy, Gabriel Lane, Kevin Chang, Anton Hedayat, Frank Chang, Bryan Brennan and Sean Callaghan, finished with a time of 15:25 in the Open 8+, 14 seconds behind the first place Toreros.
The Tritons' "B" boat took fifth in 16:04. Joining coxswain Drake Lem were Jonathan Baker, Daniel Mahan, Tynan Rodger, Tyler Tomei, Sam Calvert, William Wong, Alex Petty and Jackson Lytle.
"I think we have the right athletes and mentality this year to do the work that will be necessary," Johnson said. "It is a long season and this was a good day of training."
On the women's side, UCSD's Open 8+ "B" crew, made up of coxswain Tori Wong, Olivia Koyama, Christina Nilles, Lauren Iannetta, Jen Dutton, Nicole Hammonds, Catherine Mosher, Nicole Muehlhauser and Shruti Kamath, led the Tritons. They finished in sixth place with a time of 18:23.
UCSD's "A" boat finished 18 seconds behind in eighth place with coxswain Catherine Sheffler, Jessica Levesque, Gabby Pascual, Sarah Wallum, Annie Hocking, Jordan Levy, Amber Harris, Claire Duesdieker and Kelly Peterson.
The University of San Diego owned the top two spots with times of 16:48 and 17:07.
"We had a solid effort today against some great competition," said UCSD women's head coach Colin Truex. "Most of the athletes were able to race in two events, which really tested their conditioning and ability to push themselves in less than ideal conditions. In the Open 8+ event we spread out our speed across the three eights and felt that we accomplished what we set out to do."
The women's third 8+ crew finished in 12th place with a time of 19:20. The squad consisted of coxswain Juliana Burns, Madison Kohlenburger, Michaela Kazek, Jennifer Labruna, Nicole Arkosy, Natalia Royal, Emily Chua, Janell Ingersol and Kimberly McCune.
The women also fielded four Open 4+ teams and one Open Novice 8+ team.
University of San Diego swept the top three spots in the Open 4+ while the Tritons took fourth through seventh place. UCSD's top team made up of Catherine Sheffler, Kelly Peterson, Claire Duesdieker, Amber Harris and Nicole Hammonds finished in fourth with a time of 20:46.
The Women's Open Novice 8+ team took a third place finish behind University of San Diego and San Diego State. Tori Wong, Catherine Mosher, Jessica Levesque, Emily Chua and Sarah Wallum recorded a time of 20:13, just 11 seconds behind SDSU.
"Despite the fatigue and choppy water, we put together some great races," Truex said. "We have been working very hard this fall and the team got the results that they deserved. We have something to feel good about heading into our championship season."
Both programs will start their spring seasons on March 7. The women go to Long Beach to compete against Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. The men will stay in town as they host the San Diego City Championships on Mission Bay.
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