No. 1 Rowing sweeps four races on first day of San Diego Crew Classic

Saturday, April 1

San Diego, Calif.

9:15 a.m. CT

University of Texas

San Diego Crew Classic

Photo Credit: row2k

No. 1 Rowing sweeps four races on first day of San Diego Crew Classic

04.01.2023 | Rowing

The Longhorns advanced four boats to grand finals in the first regatta of the season.

SAN DIEGO – No. 1 Texas Rowing kicked off the season with sweep of four races at the San Diego Crew Classic om Saturday to advance all boats to grand finals on the Fiesta Bay-Crown Point Shores of Mission Bay Park.

Racing against many of the top programs in the nation, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 Washington, No. 7 California and No. 16 USC, the Longhorns impressed in their first action of the year, collecting victories in their four races, and tallying the top time in three of them.

"It was a really good first day, and everyone is pleased with how things went," said Texas head coach Dave O'Neill. "Although we had a couple scrimmages last month, there's no better way to kick off the season than racing at the San Diego Crew Classic. It now feels real, as the season has officially begun. We'll recover and prepare for tomorrow's racing which is sure to be tight. Tomorrow will be a great test, but we have a long way to go regardless of the result."

Texas' I Eight opened the 2023 campaign with a victory in the Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational with a time of 6:31.660, followed by a Rowing Canada (6:35.496) crew that was competing as an exhibition and Oxford Brooks (6:38.402). Washington (6:28.544) and Notre Dame (6:52.170) rounded out the heat. The Longhorns posted the fastest time of the morning and will enter tomorrow's final as the top seed.

The Longhorn First Eight has win 20 consecutive races with a head-to-head record of 69-0 since the streak began at the start of the 2021 season.

In the Women's Collegiate Varsity 4+, Texas registered the fastest time of the morning session, crossing the line in 7:30.464. California took second in 7:44.05 and USC placed third in 7:56.387.

Texas followed that with a II Eight victory in the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy heats, posting a time of 6:46.252 to finish ahead of Washington (6:49.447) and Washington State (7:13.197).

The Horns closed out the morning with a win in the Carley Copley Cup by the Texas III Eight, which registered a time of 6:54.562 to defeat California (6:58.797) and USC (7:19.479).

The San Diego Crew Classic resumes at Crown Point Park on Sunday morning with the Longhorns slated to begin racing at 11:55 a.m. CT (9:55 a.m. PT).

RESULTS
I Eight: Jessop-Whittier Cup Invitational (Heat 1)
1. TEXAS - 6:31.660
2. Rowing Canada (exhibition) - 6:35.496
3. Oxford Brooks - 6:38.402
4. Washington- 6:38.544
5. Notre Dame - 6:52.170

Four: Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup (Heat 1)
1. TEXAS - 7:30.464
2. California - 7:44.095
3. USC - 7:56.387
4. San Diego - 8:17.962
5. UC San Diego - 8:21.354
6. Santa Clara - 9:07.359

II Eight: Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy (Heat 2)
1. TEXAS - 6:46.252
2. Washington - 6:49.447
3. Washington St. - 7:13.197
4. Notre Dame - 7:13.580
5. Loyola Marymount - 7:20.862
6. UC San Diego - 7:27.408

III Eight: Carley Copley Cup
1. TEXAS - 6:54.562
2. California - 6:58.797
3. USC - 7:19.479
4. UC San Diego - 8:00.126

LINEUPS
I Eight: Rachel Rane (C), Kaitlin Knifton (Stroke), Susanna Temming, Anna Jensen, Etta Carpender, Sophia Calabrese, Samantha Schalk, Kelsey McGinley, Amber Harwood (Bow)