Men’s Rowing Wins Five of Six at the UC San Diego Invitational

Saturday, March 30

Lower Otay Lake - Chula Vista, Calif.

All Day

Drexel University

UC San Diego Invitational

Men’s Rowing Wins Five of Six at the UC San Diego Invitational

3/31/2019 1:07:00 PM | Men's Rowing

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The No. 20 Drexel University men's rowing team won five of its six races in the squad's trip to California for the 2019 UC San Diego Invitational. The Dragons' Varsity 8 and Second Varsity 8 racked up wins over UC San Diego, University of San Diego, Gonzaga University and Stanford University on the weekend. Drexel swept its four races on Saturday before taking one out of two on Sunday against No. 13 Stanford as the 2V8 came out on top.

SESSION THREE / SUNDAY MORNING
Drexel closed the two-day invitational with a pair of head-to-head races with Stanford on Sunday morning. In the first race of the day, Drexel's Varsity 8 kept pace with the Cardinal before No. 13 Stanford pulled away for the four-second margin of victory. The Dragons posted a time of 5:59.96 while Stanford was at 5:55.32.

The Second Varsity 8 sought its revenge 30 minutes later as the Dragons led from start to finish in a seven-second win over Stanford's 2V8. Drexel finished up in 6:06.76 with the Cardinal behind at 6:13.76. The win closed out a successful west coast trip for DU.

SESSION TWO / SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Drexel swept its Saturday schedule when it picked up two more wins in the afternoon session. The Varsity 8, dropping over 15 seconds from its morning time, defeated Gonzaga (5:54.88) and USD (6:01.96) in comfortable fashion on the warm southern California afternoon with a time of 5:46.97 on the squad's third time out on the course and second time racing.

The Second Varsity 8 erased just about 16 seconds from its session one time to defeat Gonzaga in a head-to-head matchup in session two. Drexel crossed the finish at 5:55.65 while the Zags came in at 6:02.47.

SESSION ONE / SATURDAY MORNING
Drexel participated in the first race of the morning against UC San Diego in the Varsity 8. UCSD was just ahead of the Dragons in the opening 500m but Drexel came back as the V8 settled into their first race on the course. Drexel pulled out the win with a five-second victory over the Tritons. Drexel finished with a time of 6:02.46 while UCSD came in at 6:08.57.

The Second Varsity 8 went up against UC San Diego about 30 minutes later. Drexel closed the morning session with its second win of the day, outpacing UCSD (6:14.19) with a time of 6:11.21 for the three-second margin of victory.

FRIDAY / IN CHULA VISTA FROM HERE ON OUT
Friday was the first full day for the Dragons at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, located about 15 miles south east of downtown San Diego and less than seven miles to the United States-Mexico border. Most of the day was spent outside rigging the boats as the team prepped for an evening practice session on Lower Otay Lake, the site of the weekend's races.

THURSDAY / ARIVING IN SAN DIEGO
The Dragons arrived in San Diego, Calif. on Thursday afternoon. The team went straight to the UC San Diego Boathouse near Mission Beach for a quick practice session on Mission Bay. Following that, the squad explored the Mission Beach Boardwalk before another session on the bay. With the sun setting, the team met ate team dinner in Old Town with alumni Pete Eyrich '12 at the Cafe Coyote. The Dragons settled in the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, where they would be staying for the rest of the weekend, after dark on Thursday night.

CHULA VISTA ELITE ATHLETE TRAINING CENTER
The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center is an U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training site, covering 155 acres of state-of-the-art sport venues for archery, beach volleyball, BMX, canoe/kayak, cycling, field hockey, rowing, rugby, soccer, tennis, track & field, triathlon and cross-training abilities for various winter sports. The facility, located in Chula Vista, Calif., was built in 1995 under the guidance of the United States Olympic Committee and was relaunched in 2017 under new ownership and operation by the City of Chula Vista.

FINISHES
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
Session #1
Men's Varsity 8
1 / Drexel / 6:02.46
2 / UC San Diego / 6:08.57

Men's Second Varsity 8
1 / Drexel / 6:11.21
2 / UC San Diego / 6:14.19

Session #2
Men's Varsity 8
1 / Drexel / 5:46.97
2 / Gonzaga / 5:54.88
3 / USD / 6:01.96

Men's Second Varsity 8
1 / Drexel / 5:55.65
2 / Gonzaga / 6:02.47

SUNDAY, MARCH 31
Session #3
Men's Varsity 8
1 / Stanford / 5:55.32
2 / Drexel / 5:59.96

Men's Second Varsity 8
1 / Drexel / 6:06.76
2 / Stanford / 6:13.76

MEN'S LINEUPS
Men's Varsity 8+
Coxswain / Hunter Reed
Stroke / Anthony Williams
7 / Justin Best
6 / Lazar Lazovic
5 / Ben Lee
4 / Dimitrije Ibrocic
3 / Doug Davis
2 / Bryce Rosicky
Bow / Damjan Lazic

Men's 2nd Varsity 8+
Coxswain / Thomas Kish
Stroke / Dario Vracevic
7 / Brandon Kintish
6 / Rocco Fucetola
5 / Joe Aach
4 / CJ Rooney
3 / Matt Reilly
2 / John Karen
Bow / Dimitrije Regodic

Spare
Colin Stewart