UCLA rowing pulls closer in races against USC
UCLA rowing’s varsity eight boat lost to USC by 2.5 seconds, a marked improvement from April’s Crew Classic in San Diego, in which UCLA lost to USC by nearly five seconds in the varsity eight.
By Zachary Lemos
May 6, 2013 1:08 a.m.
Although the Bruins lost their dual with crosstown rival USC on Saturday, they kept their margins tighter than they did a month ago.
No. 6 UCLA rowing lost by no more than 2.5 seconds against No.1 USC in any one event, and managed to edge out the Trojans the first two races of the day, the second varsity four and novice eight, by seven or more seconds in each event. UCLA’s novice eight squad obliterated USC’s, crossing the finish line nearly 20 seconds before the Women of Troy.
Even the 2.5 and 2.4 seconds that separated the two crew’s finishes in the first and second varsity eight races respectively were an improvement on the over five second wins USC had over UCLA at the San Diego Crew Classic in April.
And in the varsity four race, UCLA again cut the margin of defeat even tighter. Instead of losing by well over two seconds like they did at the Crew Classic a month ago, the Bruins came in only three-tenths of a second behind USC.
Overall, UCLA came away with wins in two events, while USC took home victories in the remaining three events, including the varsity eights.
In two weeks, UCLA will face USC again at the Pac-12 championships in Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
In its last competition in Lake Natoma, UCLA finished third behind California and Washington, its best finish since 1991. The Bruins later earned an NCAA team competition berth, their second team selection in program history.
