May 14, 2008

BERKELEY - California and its eighth-ranked varsity eight will compete in the 2008 Pac-10 Rowing Championships on Sunday, May 18, at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Cal is seeded No. 1 in two races, the second varsity eight and varsity four. The Golden Bears are also No. 3 in the varsity eight and No. 2 in the frosh/novice eight. Washington is seeded No. 1 in the varsity eight and frosh/novice eight; Stanford is No. 2 in the varsity eight. Four of the varsity eight boats in the seven-school Pac-10 field are ranked in the May 14 USRowing Men's Varsity Eight collegiate coaches' poll: No. 1 Washington, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Cal and No. 14 Oregon State.

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

2008 Pac-10 Rowing Championships Live Results
Live streaming of the rowing championships will be available on the Pac-10 Web site at http://www.pac-10.org. From the home page, click on the live stream graphic on the right side of the page. Viewers must sign into the free All-Access; new users will be asked to create a login. JAMCO will also have a link to live results and video via this link http://jamcotimes.com/2008/pacten/index.htm.

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.

More Information about the 2008 Pac-10 Rowing Championships
Admission to the conference championships is $5 per person for the day. To learn more about parking, Lake Natoma and the Sacramento State event facility, please visit the Sacramento State Aquatic website at http://www.csusaquaticcenter.com.

Scouting the Golden Bears
The following is a look at how Cal fared in three regattas so far this season:

Pac-10 Challenge - March 29-30 in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal opened the 2008 season with successful performances at the Pac-10 Challenge. The Cal varsity eight won all three of its races, including victories over Cornell, UC San Diego and Trinity College. Overall, the Bears won all eight of their races, including second varsity eight triumphs over Cornell and Trinity.

San Diego Crew Classic - April 5-6 in San Diego, Calif.
The Bears last competed in the San Diego Crew Classic, with the varsity eight taking fourth place (5:44.15) in the Copley Cup grand final. Cal took home a second-place finish (6:05.33) in the novice eight (Derek Guelker Memorial Cup) and placed third (5:56.58) in the junior varsity eight (Sharp Cabrillo Cup). In the open eight race (Joan Ward Memorial Trophy, the Cal B boat was second (6:11.53) and the Cal A boat was third (6:12.53).

Stanford Invitational - April 19 in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal, which competed only on the first day of the two-day regatta, lost its varsity eight (6:06.21-6:10.06) and second varsity eight (6:16.13-6:19.73) races to Wisconsin. The Badgers' varsity eight is ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Bears' third varsity eight also defeated the Santa Clara varsity eight (6:58.37-7:06.95.) at the Stanford Invitational.

Washington Dual - April 26 in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal's sixth-ranked varsity eight lost to top-ranked Washington, 5:42.11-5:48.71, to give the Huskies the Schoch Cup. Washington has won the last two Schoch Cups against Cal.

The Bears won the second varsity eight race with Washington, which won the freshman eight against Cal. The Bears rowed a time of 5:49.31 to the Huskies' 5:52.53 in the second varsity eight, while Washington won the freshman eight, 5:51.22-5:53.27.

The Bears also competed against UC Davis on April 26 in Redwood Shores, with the Cal third varsity eight beating the Aggies' varsity eight, 6:00.34-6:03.78, and the Cal second freshman eight beating Davis, 6:11.86-6:29.64.

Stanford Dual - May 3 in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal's sixth-ranked varsity eight lost by less than one second to ninth-ranked Stanford at the Big Row. The Bears' top boat lost, 5:42.52-5:43.39, as Stanford won the Schwabacher Cup for the first time since 1990. Cal had won the annual varsity eight race between the rivals 17 straight times before today. In the other May 3 races, Cal won the freshman eight and second varsity four against the Cardinal.

The Cal freshman eight prevailed, 5:51.91-5:26.21. The second varsity four race included three entrants, with the California 2 boat winning in 6:27.62. Next was the second-place California 1 boat (6:30.90) and third-place Stanford (7:56.78).

Cal is coached by Steve Gladstone, who is in his 20th year overall at the helm of the Golden Bears' men's program. During the 2006 campaign Gladstone led his team to a national championship at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Regatta and a Pac-10 team championship sparked by victories in the varsity eight. In 2006 the Cal varsity eight came out on top, defeating Princeton by two seconds. With this win, Gladstone is tied with Charles "Pop" Courtney for the most Varsity Challenge Cup Titles (IRA varsity eight national championships); Courtney won 11 titles while at Cornell between 1901and 1915.

A Look at Cal in the 2007 Pac-10 Rowing Championships
Needing a win over top-ranked Washington in the varsity eight grand final to secure its ninth Pac-10 title in the past 10 years, No. 3 Cal came up just 1.5 seconds short on May 13, 2007, on Lake Natoma. As a result, the Huskies finished with 69 points to the Golden Bears' 66 in the team competition.

Cal and Washington placed 1-2 in all four events on the day, with Cal winning the varsity four and freshman eight races, and UW taking the second varsity eight and varsity eight titles.

In the first race on the 2000-meter course, Cal surged ahead over the final 500 meters to win the varsity four grand final by more than three seconds over Washington. The Huskies took a three-second lead in the first quarter of the race before the Bears began reeling them in, finally catching them with 500 meters to go. Cal crossed the line in 6:44.13, to Washington's 6:47.48. USC was a distant third at 6:52.31.

In the freshman eight final, Cal took control early and won by nearly eight seconds over Washington, 5:54.87 to 6:02.34. The Bears had a little over a one-second edge at the 500-meter mark and forged a three-second advantage at the midway point. With Sunday's result, Cal has captured the frosh event each of the last five years.

Washington, though, defeated the Bears in the final two grand finals on the afternoon. The Huskies cruised to a five-second win in the second varsity eight, finishing in 6:01.96 to the Bears' 6:07.24. Then in the varsity eight competition, UW moved ahead by about one second through 500 meters and essentially held the edge the rest of the way. Washington completed the race in 5:46.35 to Cal's 5:47.89.

Up Next:
IRA Regatta
After the Pac-10 Rowing Championships, Cal will compete at the IRA Regatta June 5-7 on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J.