LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's rowing team has traveled up the coast to Folsom, Calif. for Western Sprints taking place tomorrow, May 13. The event will consist of collegiate 2000-meter races at Nimbus Flats.
This event will act as a qualifier for the IRA National Championships hosted in Princeton, N.J. stretching from June 2 to June 4.
DETAILS
Western Sprints
Saturday, May 13
Lake Natoma | Folsom, Calif.
VARSITY 8 EARNS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
The UC San Diego men's rowing Varsity 8 boat took home the top spot at the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay. The Tritons finished first of eight teams in the Cal Cup Final with a time of 6:14.702, besting second place Gonzaga by nearly three full seconds. The winning boat consisted of
Chad Breslin,
Michael Brown,
Danny Jarotzky,
Archie McKirdy,
Tommy Morehouse,
Sebastian Navarro,
Camden Park-Coburn,
Kevork Tchakmakjian, and
Thomas Wilson. It was the Tritons first SDCC Cal Cup win since 2009.
JEFF COLLETT AT THE HELM
This season marks the first for Jeff Collett as head coach of UC San Diego Men's Rowing, and he's already making a major impact on the program. Collett is no stranger to the Tritons, having first joined the team as a scholar-athlete in 2007. After transferring from Orange Coast College, he rowed for two seasons before graduating with a degree in communications in 2009.
Following his time as a scholar athlete, Collett gained experience as the head youth rowing coach at Newport Aquatic Center before returning to UC San Diego in 2013 as the Tritons' recruiting coordinator and assistant coach.
Collett takes the reigns from interim head coach
Sean McCrea, who led the Tritons through the spring 2022 season, which concluded with the Varsity 8 boat claiming a fourth straight Western Sprints Championship. This is a return to coaching for Collett, who spent the past year and a half working in the world of e-sports as Director of Operations at Cloud9 Training Grounds.
COLLETT PREVIEWS 2023 CAMPAIGN ON ESPN+
With the 2023 season just underway, new UC San Diego men's rowing head coach Jeff Collett joined ESPN's Ted Mendenhall in the broadcast booth to preview the Tritons' spring campaign. Collett looked ahead to the 2023 season, which got underway earlier in March. The 2009 UC San Diego grad also reflected on what it was like to return to his alma mater where he also previously served as an assistant coach.
The conversation took place during a recent UC San Diego women's basketball game against UC Davis. The full conversation can be seen below or via
ucsdtritons.com/watch.
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its third year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of
The Big West for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
MAKING THE GRADE
The Tritons have continued to excel in the classroom. UC San Diego posted a 3.39 team grade point average during fall quarter while freshman
Sacha Dewancker and sophomore
Danny Jarotzky posted a 4.0.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2023 men's rowing team is made up of one grad student, four seniors, two juniors, 15 sophomores, and 13 freshmen.
NEW TRITONS ON THE BLOCK
The Triton's hold a very young team with 28 underclassmen on a roster of 35 scholar athletes.
The full freshman class is
Chad Breslin (Sacramento/Christian Brothers HS),
Sacha Dewancker (Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France/Gisborne Boy's HS),
Peter Dogan (Los Altos/Los Altos HS),
Andrew Geller (Los Alamitos/Los Alamitos HS),
Jacqueline Huebner (Moraga/Campolindo HS),
Paris Liston (Newburgh, N.Y./Belmont Hill School),
Aleksander Navarro (La Jolla/The Bishop's School), Sabastian Navarro (San Diego/The Bishop's School),
Kyle Pellegrini(Placerville/Charter University Prep),
Judah Regen (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan HS),
David Santamaria(Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School),
Andrew Saska (Elk Grove/Peasant Grove HS),
Adam Ziegelmueller (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep High).
UP NEXT
Depending on the outcome of the event, the Tritons hope to attend the IRA National Championships in Princeton, N.J. stretching from June 2 to June 4.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
MEN'S ROWING ON TRITONCAST
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO ROWING
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
Twitter and
Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmrowing.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories,
click here.
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 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
