Rowing team to face tough competition in San Diego Crew Classic Regatta

The waters of Ballona Creek are no longer safe for visiting
teams. The UCLA women’s rowing team has solidified itself as
a mid-major powerhouse in the western NCAA region after two key
victories during spring break.

This weekend the team faces some of the nation’s top
talent in the San Diego Crew Classic Regatta and looks to make a
splash and establish itself as a team to watch out for.

“We’ve really started off on the right foot,”
women’s rowing head coach Amy Fuller said. “The team
has a lot of confidence in its training now, and (other teams) know
that we will come.”

In its second year as a varsity team, UCLA has won all three
regattas in which it has competed this season. That includes a
dual-meet victory for the Karen Hock-Hjelm Cup against LMU, a team
the Bruins have struggled against and that shares their practice
facility at Ballona Creek in Marina Del Rey.

“It’s exciting that we’re winning these
regattas,” team co-captain and varsity rower Irene Condella
said. “It means that the program is going in the right
direction.”

The varsity team will be competing for the Cal Cup this weekend
in San Diego against some stiff competition from around the
country. In their qualifying heat, the Bruins will face-off against
six other teams including fellow western mid-majors Sacramento
State and USD, and the East Coast’s Villanova. The top three
winners from each heat will move on to the Grand Finals the next
day.

Last year, the women’s novice team was able to qualify for
the Grand Finals for the first time in over 10 years, and placed
sixth overall. This year the team has a difficult heat draw, and
will have to get past Oregon State and national powerhouse
Washington if they are to attempt to match their previous
effort.

“We’re definitely good enough to make it to the
final,” novice freshman rower Anja Wanberg said. “If we
could beat Oregon State, that would probably be good
enough.”

Securing a spot in the Grand Finals this weekend is an
achievement which Coach Fuller believes will set the tone for the
rest of the year.

“Getting into the Grand Finals and having a good showing
will just set us up in that same position that shows we’re
moving up the ladder, and taking out people we never could have
before,” Coach Fuller said.

According to Coach Fuller, the team has already proven itself to
be better than she had hoped this year. With the two additional
scholarships the team will be adding in the fall and their prior
successes, UCLA is looking to move beyond their mid-major role in
upcoming years and solidify the Ballona Creek Bruins as a team to
be feared.