UCLA rowing places 6th in conference championships to end season, Pac-12 tenure
Members of UCLA rowing converge for a team huddle. The Bruins finished sixth in the Pac-12 championships, marking the end of their season. (Myka Fromm/Photo editor)
By Gabrielle Siegel
May 21, 2024 11:37 p.m.
The Bruins ended their season – and an era – in Sacramento.
And with a sixth-place finish, they only narrowly avoided the end of the scoreboard.
UCLA rowing took second-to-last at its final Pac-12 championships Sunday, competing against No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 California, No. 8 Washington, No. 17 Washington State, USC and Oregon State. The Bruins outlasted the Cougars while landing 2.5 points behind the fifth-place Trojans.
Snagging 13 overall championship points in its return to Lake Natoma, UCLA fell short of an NCAA championship berth for the 10th consecutive season.
“What I’m proud of is the culture that we’ve built – a culture of hard work, competitiveness, resilience and emotional intelligence,” said coach Previn Chandraratna. “We’re built to last and grow into the future as we transition to the Big Ten.”
Stanford – the reigning national champion – claimed its third consecutive conference title, winning every race in which it competed. The podium featured the same three teams as the year prior, with California and Washington rounding out second and third place, respectively.
The Bruins’ third varsity eight crew secured the team’s best performance, finishing fourth place ahead of USC, Oregon State and Washington State. The crew secured a final time of 6:58.66.
UCLA’s varsity eight finished last in its heat, arriving in seventh with a time of 6:52.08. The Bruins also raced in an exhibition, with their fourth varsity eight coming in at 7:05.94, taking fifth place out of as many boats.
The Bruins additionally competed in the second varsity eight race, in which they finished fifth at 6:53.46, and the varsity four race, where they took sixth at 7:43.32.
Chandraratna said he is excited for the program’s future because of the strides the underclassmen made this season.
“We salute their efforts,” he said. “They redefine what hard work looks like. As a program, there’s no question that we’re better poised now than ever before.”
Chandraratna added that the team has discussed the long-term progress it will need to become a top crew in the country.
“We talked about change that’s akin to a glacier – a glacier, in fact, is slow but immense, and it ultimately changes the landscape of everything around it,” he said.
UCLA – along with USC and Washington – will expand the Big Ten to 11 rowing teams when it joins the conference next season.
