SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The UC San Diego men's rowing team completed day one of the annual San Diego Crew Classic with solid times from all three crews participating. The Tritons' Varsity 8 especially did well, finishing first of their heat. All three boats finished in the top three of their respective heats, sending them into the finals on day two.

UC SAN DIEGO VARSITY 8
The Tritons found immediate victory with their Varsity 8 in their first heat of the day starting at 10:12 am. Out of five boats, UC San Diego came out on top in their heat with a time of 6:25.400. Following shortly behind was UC San Diego also put up a faster time than first place in the second heat with Gonzaga coming in at 6:25.473.

The Tritons' varsity 8 took a noticeable lead by the 1000 meter mark after Purdue's varsity 8 gave the heat an initial strong start. "Gonaga pulled a similar time and had a similar margin of victory, so we are expecting an extremely close race tomorrow in the grand final," shared Triton head coach Jeff Collett.
 
UC SAN DIEGO SECOND VARSITY 8
UC San Diego's second varsity 8 placed second in their heat with a time of 6:28.615 coming in short to Cal's boat with a time of 6:20.403. Following behind in third was Purdue with a time of 6:45.563, sending these three teams to the finals on day two tomorrow.

The second crew finished with the third fastest time out both heats in their respective category, moving them on to tomorrow's grand final.
 
UC SAN DIEGO THIRD VARSITY 8
Following many roster changes in the beginning of the season, UC San Diego
The Tritons' third crew put up a time of 6:35.597 coming in third for their heat starting at 11:03 am this morning. Finishing first and second was Cal's third crew and Gonzaga's second boat.
 
QUOTABLE
"I was pleased with the performance of all three of our crews today, and they showed great maturity on the racecourse," shared UC San Diego head coach Jeff Collett. "Our young group must learn to recover quickly and they showed great poise in this regard."

TRITON TIDBITS

• All three of UC San Diego boats placed top three in their respective heats, sending all three crews to the finals.
• The Tritons' third crew clinched the finals qualification by just under a second with UCLA's boat following in with a time of 6:36.396.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return tomorrow to compete in day two of the San Diego Crew Classic.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.