NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – University of San Diego men's rowing had its third varsity eight compete at the California Challenge Cup in Newport Bay Saturday, racing to a 1-2 record in a three-race format.

USD brought only its third varsity eight to the regatta, a lineup composed almost entirely of freshmen.

"Early season racing is an opportunity to get an early look on how our crews are performing early in the season and the California Challenge is a nice format as it gives each team three races in a single day," said co-interim head coach Costas Ciungan. "Overall, the racing allowed our 3V to race and compete with teams of equal and faster speed. This allows them to understand early what it means to execute the race plan, to go for it, and make every stroke count."

San Diego opened the morning against Orange Coast College – whom USD faced off against in a fixture to start the spring campaign just a couple weeks ago – falling by five seconds after being beaten off the line not being able to fully recover before the finish.

The Toreros responded in their second race, against UCLA's first freshmen novice eight, easily topping the high-level Bruin squad.

"In our second race, our third varsity eight was able to execute our start sequence and race plan and therefore put it on the water," Ciungan said.

USD closed the regatta against UCLA's elite second varsity eight. The Toreros fell behind from the start but continued to press through to the finish.

Up Next
San Diego next returns to action at the Redwood Shores Invitational at Redwood City, Calif.'s Redwood Shores, where it will compete its first and second varsity eights on Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8.
 
Lineup
USD 3V8+
Cox: Nick Lee, Jr.
Stroke: Ethan Provost, Fr.
7: Kacen Hamada, Sr.
6: Charlie Vedder, Fr.
5: Rowan Haney, Fr.
4: Matvey Gorshkov Paleev, Fr.
3: Diego Sanchez, Fr.
2: Cooper Cross, Fr.
Bow: Tommy Vidon, Fr.