May 14, 2008

BERKELEY - California will join a talented field at the Pac-10 Rowing Championships on Sunday, May 18, on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The Golden Bears boast the nation's top-ranked varsity eight, which is unbeaten against a strong field of challengers, including a pair of conference rivals, so far this season: No. 10 Stanford, No. 15 Washington, No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 18 Notre Dame and Texas. In the preliminary seedings for the conference regatta, Cal is seeded No. 1 in the varsity eight and novice eight. The Bears are seeded No. 3 in the second varsity eight and No. 2 in the varsity four.

Besides the seven Pac-10 schools, Sunday's field will include Gonzaga, Western Washington, UC Davis and Sacramento State.

Cal will also race a few boats in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on Saturday, May 17, at Lake Natoma.

Based on the May 7 USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national poll, the women's varsity eight boats from all seven Pac-10 schools are nationally ranked, including No. 1 Cal, No. 4 Washington State, No. 10 Stanford, No. 12 USC, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 15 Washington and No. 20 UCLA.

Last year at Pac-10s, USC claimed the overall title, Cal was second and Washington was third. The Pac-10's top three teams finished in the top 12 at the 2007 NCAA regatta, with USC fifth, Cal seventh and Washington 10th.

2008 Pac-10 Rowing Championships Race Schedule
Morning
Race# Heat#	                        Race Time
1. 1 Women's Varsity Four	        8:00 a.m.
2. 2 Women's Varsity Four	        8:10 a.m.
3. 1 Women's Second Varsity Eight	8:20 a.m.
4. 2 Women's Second Varsity Eight	8:30 a.m.
5. 1 Women's Varsity Eight	        8:40 a.m.
6. 2 Women's Varsity Eight	        8:50 a.m.
7. 1 Women's Novice Eight	        9:00 a.m.
8. 2 Women's Novice Eight	        9:10 a.m.
Afternoon
Race# Final (Grand or Petite)	Race Time
9. PF Women's Novice Eight	        1:10 p.m.
10. PF Women's Varsity Four	        1:20 p.m.
11. PF Women's Second Varsity Eight	1:30 p.m.
12. PF Women's Varsity Eight	1:40 p.m.
13. GF Men's Frosh/Novice Eight	1:50 p.m.
14. GF Women's Novice Eight	        2:00 p.m.
15. GF Men's Varsity Four	        2:10 p.m.
16. GF Women's Varsity Four	        2:20 p.m.
17. GF Men's Second Varsity Eight	2:30 p.m.
18. GF Women's Second Varsity Eight	2:40 p.m.
19. GF Men's Varsity Eight	        2:50 p.m.
20. GF Women's Varsity Eight	3:00 p.m.

Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal's varsity eight defeated Pac-10 rivals Washington and Stanford in successive weeks, with the Bears winning two of four races overall against the Huskies on April 26 and sweeping the Cardinal in three races at the May 3 Big Row. Both conference dual meets took place in Redwood Shores, Calif. Against Stanford, Cal's varsity eight won by more than four seconds, 6:25.77-6:29.87. The Bears also won the second varsity eight (6:47.27-6:58.08) and varsity four (7:39.66-7:56.78) races against the Cardinal.

The Bears also beat Washington the varsity eight race, 6:33.51-6:37.55, by more than four seconds and defeated the Huskies in the novice eight, 7:00.44-7:03.13. Washington beat Cal in the second varsity eight, 6:44.81-6:47.92, and varsity four, 7:27.69-7:38.31.

On April 12, Cal swept Texas in four races in Austin, Texas. The Bears, making their first trip to the Lone Star State, claimed the varsity eight race by a time of 6:20.2 to the Longhorns' 6:38.2. The Bears' varsity four won the first race against Texas, with a time of 7:25.2 to the Longhorns' 7:52.8. Next up, Cal's novice eight beat Texas, 6:49.1-6:53.9, in what was a close contest. The Bears did not establish a clear lead until past the halfway point of the race. In the second varsity eight race, Cal triumphed, 6:33.5-6:51.9.

The Bears opened the 2008 season with fine performances at the Pac-10 Challenge March 29-30 at Redwood Shores Lagoon in Redwood Shores, Calif. The Cal varsity eight, which was then ranked No. 9 in the coaches' poll, defeated then-No. 2 Virginia, then-No. 5 Ohio State and then-No. 14 Notre Dame.

A Look at Cal in the 2007 Pac-10 Rowing Championships
Cal's eighth-ranked women's rowing team finished second to No. 1 USC at the Pac-10 championships on May 13, 2007, on Lake Natoma, snapping the Bears' three-year hold on the title. Counting results from four events, the Trojans ended the day with 69 points to Cal's 59.

The Bears captured one conference crown on the afternoon when they won the second varsity eight grand final. Cal took an early one-second lead on Washington through 500 meters, and the Bears extended their advantage to more than five seconds at the 1500-meter mark. Cal covered the 2000-meter course in 6:53.04 to UW's 6:56.68.

In the varsity eight championship, USC grabbed an early lead and remained in front throughout the race. Cal stood in fourth place at the 500-meter point and held that position halfway through the contest. The Bears had the fastest final 500, closing in 1:38.26, but were unable to move higher than third. USC finished in 6:40.13, with Stanford taking second in 6:42.55 and Cal third in 6:44.58.

In the opening two heats of the morning, the Bears were unable to advance to the grand finals in either varsity four or the novice eight, settling for the petite final in both cases. UCLA captured the varsity four in 7:44.34 with Cal placing as the runner-up in 7:45.40. The Bears did win the novice eight petite final in 7:20.22, outracing UC Davis, which finished in 7:22.92.

Up Next:
NCAA Field Announced May 20
The NCAA announces its selections for the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on May 20. The Bears, who finished in seventh place overall at the 2007 NCAA Championships, will likely earn a bid to the national regatta. Cal is the host of the NCAA Division I, II and III Championships that will take place together May 30-June 1 on Lake Natoma.