NEWPORT, Calif. - On Sunday morning the Toreros competed in the Newport Regatta against local Southern California teams. USD finished the day with two first place finishes and one third place finish.

The novice four set the bar high in the first race of the morning, placing first in their event. They raced in lane one against UCLA, San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara, and Long Beach State. The lineup who competed in the four was Simon Finnie, Mike Darby, Evan Nassar, Max O'toole and was coxed by Sarah Goh.

The varsity eight, who raced down lane one, entered a battle against the home team, Orange Coast College, in the last few hundred meters. The two teams fought for seats in the final sprint but the Toreros were able to steal the vicotry from by 1.02 seconds. The lineup was stroked by Connor Olson followed by Nick Watson, Nick Bea, Parker Danz, Jack Pokalsky, Sam Stephens, Pierce Salamack, Konrad Altvater in bow and coxed Kai Morse.

"This was an impressive performance from all three crews, but the varsity eights race race was a real standout," said Head Coach Brooks Dagman. "The final five hundred meters was a serious dual between the host team from OCC and us. Knowing that we can handle a late attack from a really competitive opponent is a confidence builder. The fact that we set a new school record of 5:55 is an
added bonus."

The second varsity eight came in third behind UC Santa Barbara and OCC. The men finished with a time of 6:09.18. The lineup was lead by Luke Uetrecht followed by Jack Posthauer, Owen Chase, Evan Ferree, Griffin Daniel, Sam Jones, Luke Walbeck, James Davenport and coxed by Will Graf.

The Toreros are back on the water to compete against Santa Clara, Gonzaga, and UCSDFriday March 17 on Mission Bay.