SAN DIEGO — San Diego men's rowing is just over a week away from taking part in the San Diego Crew Classic, one of the crown jewels of the rowing racing circuit in the United States each year.

USD's Varsity Eight is entered in the "Cal Cup", along with crews from 10 other universities.

"For us, our alumni, and our supporters, this is one of the biggest weekends of the year," said head coach Bart Thompson. "This is one of the most prestigious events in American rowing, and it's a privilege to have it here on our home water."

The Crew Classic will mark San Diego's second race of the spring. At the Lake Las Vegas Invitational (March 4-5) USD faced four Top 20 teams over a series of three duels: first against Drexel, then against defending national champions Cal, and lastly against Oregon State and Colgate, with USD falling in these three races.

"We knew the elite quality of the opponents that we were facing, and it was a great way to test ourselves to begin the year. While we always want to win these races, given our youth--our Varsity Eight had six athletes who were racing their first collegiate 2k race--we performed well."

After the duels on Friday and Saturday, the Toreros finished off with some stroke rate-controlled pieces against Oregon State and Drexel on Sunday morning. In the six-boat racing, USD came out on top. "Our bow ball was consistently in front throughout Sunday's pieces; one of the opposing coaches told me, 'You guys won the session!'" Thompson remarked. "It was an excellent way to wrap up the weekend and end our pre-Crew Classic racing."

The Toreros will begin their pursuit of the Cal Cup on Saturday morning in the heats, then progress to the finals on Sunday. "We've been battling a good amount of illness within the squad," says Thompson, "so this final week of practice will be crucial. Our guys are looking forward to getting out there and battling in front of our home crowd."