SACRAMENTO, Calif. – USD Men's Rowing had a difficult two days on the Lake Natoma waters for the inaugural MPSF Championships over the weekend, placing fourth in the both the First and Second Varsity Eight Petite Finals.
 
"It was a tough day not to have our best race. We felt really good about the one-V's heat, with the second-best time among the B Final crews," Head Coach Bart Thompson said. "Unfortunately, in the final we did not get off the line in the way we are capable of, and we paid for it."
 
The Toreros lined up against the difficult competition in the conference for the first time, which contains all the best eights on the West Coast: No. 1 Washington, No. 2 California, No. 7 Stanford, No. 19 Oregon State, No. 23 Gonzaga and both UC San Diego and Santa Clara receiving votes.
 
After finishing fourth in both of their heats on Saturday afternoon, the Toreros sought better results in Sunday morning's finals. In the first varsity eight petite final, San Diego fell behind by just a second's margin each 500 meters, crossing the finish line in 6:07.54.
 
In the second varsity eight final, the Toreros fell behind in the opening 500 meters and couldn't close the gap by the 1500m mark, eventually crossing the line and rounding out USD competition at 6:22.59. San Diego did not race a four, third varsity eight, or novice eight.  
 
"We now turn our attention to the varsity four that heads to the IRA National Championships, and then the Henley Royal Regatta, which will be a historic first for the program," said Thompson.
 
The IRA National Championships will take place from May 30 to June 1 back on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., the third time this season for the Toreros on those waters. The Henley Royal Regatta, established in 1839, will bring the Torero across international seas to Henley-on-Thames, England, where USD plans to race on the famous River Thames from July 1-6.