REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – San Diego men's rowing took to the waters of Redwood Shores on Saturday and Sunday to put its first and second varsity eight against some of the nation's fastest competition.
 
"The Redwood Shores Invitational was a great 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.," said co-interim head coach Costas Ciungan. 
 
USD's 1V and 2V led up against Santa Clara's 1V and 2V for the first race Saturday morning. The 1V had a good start and was leading halfway through the race, but then lost their lead into the second half and could not find the rhythm to get back into the lead or stay in the race at the end.
 
The 2V raced the Broncos all the way to the line, finding good rhythm in spots and making it a very good race. However, Santa Clara pushed the rate toward the end, pulling into the lead at the finish line.
 
In the afternoon session on day one, the 1V and 2V faced Oregon State's 1V and 2V.
 
The first varsity eight would have an even better race than they did in the morning session in even faster conditions due to a slight tail wind, but also a determination to go faster. The 1V would post their fastest time of the day and stay as close as they could to contact with the Beavers, posting one of the program's best finishes against OSU in a while.
 
The second Varsity eight had a good start again, staying competitive and in contention close to the 750-meter mark, however the boat clashed oars with a bridge post, which slowed them down and threw the boat off rhythm. The 2V then pushed to stay in the fight through the finish, but lost five seats from that slow down.
 
On Sunday, the Toreros took back to Redwood Shores for their third and final race of the weekend as both the 1V and 2V faced off against a very fast Stanford program, the hosts. Both teams came out swinging and put everything they had into the final race day of the weekend. However, it would be no match to the speed Stanford put to the water.
 
"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."
 
Up Next
The Toreros return home to co-host the annual San Diego Crew Classic, taking place in America's Finest City on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29.  
 
Lineups
1V8+
C: Jonah McDonnell (Jr. - Clermont, FL)
S: Rex Bales (Sr. - Belvedere, CA)
7: Jack Roach (Jr. - Grenwich, CT)
6: Jadyn Conover (Jr. - Los Gatos, CA)
5: Jack Conley (So. - Colorado Springs, CO)
4: Warren Roach (So. - Greenwich, CT)
3: Henry Michaud (Jr. - Montclair, NJ)
2: Aiden Domingo (Jr. - Huntington Beach, CA)
B: Joe Tortella (So. - Mullica Hill, NJ)
 
2V8+
C: Lilly Moyer (So. - Denver, CO)
S: Colin Mulkerrins (Jr. - San Francisco, CA)
7: Austin Baber (Fr. - Park City, UT)
6: Owen Park (So. - Holladay, UT)
5: Elliot Caron (Fr. - Seattle, WA)
4: Anthony Bertucci (Fr. - Wexford, PA)
3: Nate Cohen (Sr. - Menlo Park, CA)
2: Dawson Hein (Jr. - Seattle, WA)
B: Gable Krich (Jr. - San Diego, CA)