San Diego men’s rowing competed at the Redwood Shores Invitational in Redwood City, California, over the weekend. The team entered its first and second varsity eight boats against some of the top programs in collegiate rowing.
Co-interim head coach Costas Ciungan commented on the event: “The Redwood Shores Invitational was a great opportunity for our crews to see teams we want to be competitive with, as well as an opportunity to row and chase teams even faster than us.”
In their opening race on Saturday morning, San Diego’s first varsity eight (1V) started strong against Santa Clara but lost momentum in the second half and could not regain the lead. The second varsity eight (2V) remained competitive throughout their race with Santa Clara, but ultimately fell behind after Santa Clara increased their pace near the finish.
During Saturday afternoon’s session, both USD boats faced Oregon State. The 1V recorded its fastest time of the day under favorable conditions created by a slight tailwind. This performance marked one of San Diego’s best recent finishes against Oregon State. The 2V encountered difficulties after clashing oars with a bridge post around the 750-meter mark, which disrupted their rhythm and cost them several seats despite efforts to recover before the finish.
On Sunday, San Diego raced host Stanford in both events. Despite determined efforts from both crews, they were unable to match Stanford’s speed.
“I’m proud of the way we raced teams we need to be competitive with and chased even faster speed,” Ciungan said. “This helps our crew gauge where we are at right now and to guide the fine-tuning and faster rates we will need to find in the weeks to come.”
San Diego will next compete at home when it co-hosts the annual San Diego Crew Classic on March 28 and 29.
Lineups for USD included athletes from various states such as Florida, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Utah, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.
