April 1, 2007

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The No. 1-ranked California Golden Bears were defeated on all levels of competition with No. 8 USC upended the Bears in the Jessop-Whittier Cup championship.

In the Laurel V. Korholz Perpetual Trophy grand final, UCLA held a two second lead over Cal at the 500 meter mark, and by the half-way point the Bears had fallen into fourth place behind UCLA, Oregon State and Stanford. The order remained intact over the last 1000 meters as Cal finished in fourth place, 12 seconds behind the Bruins.

The JV 8 started the race trailing USC and UCLA by three and two seconds respectively, at the 500 meter mark. By the finish line, Oregon State had passed the Bears' for a third-place finish, with Cal trailing five seconds behind in fourth-place.

The Varsity 8 was never within striking distance of USC, as the Trojans rowed to an open water victory. In the race for second place, Cal fought off challenges by Stanford and UCLA, finally defeating the Cardinal by one second.

In one of the closest races, the Open 8 fell to USC by a margin of .29 seconds. After 500 meters USC held a .79 second lead over the Bears, and a 1.23 second lead over the Bruins. By the 1000 meter mark UCLA had fallen behind the pace, but the Bears remained within a second of the lead. With just 500 meters to go Cal held a .27 second margin over the Trojans, but the Bears couldn't hold the lead, eventually losing to USC and finishing 18 seconds ahead of UCLA.

The Bears next race in the Windermere Collegiate Classic, Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15, at Redwood Shores, Calif.

San Diego Crew Classic Results
Sunday
Novice 8 (Laurel V. Korholz Perpetual Trophy)
Grand Final: 1. UCLA, 7:06.87; 2. Oregon State, 7:16.29; 3. Stanford, 7:17.51; 4. California, 7:18.96; 5. Kansas State, 7:21.24; 6. Washington State, 7:26.54.

JV 8 (Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy)
Grand Final: 1. USC, 7:06.60; 2. Oregon State, 7:09.82; 3. UCLA, 7:10.00; 4. California, 7:14.06; 5. Washington State, 6:18.52; 6. Stanford, 7:22.03.

Varsity 8 (Jessop-Whittier Cup)
Grand Final: 1. USC, 6:52.23; 2. California, 6:59.99; 3. Stanford, 7:01.08; 4. UCLA, 7:01.75; 5. Oregon State, 7:06.30; 6. Washington State, 7:06.74.

Open 8 (Carley Copley Cup)
Grand Final: 1. USC, 7:15.40; 2. California, 7:15.69; 3. UCLA, 7:33.64; 4. SDSU, 7:46.76; 5. Cal Alumnae, 8:04.72; 6. River City, 8:22.48.