Cal Opens Season with Pac-10 Challenge :: No. 9 Bears' varsity 8 boat battles No. 2 Cavs, No. 5 Buckeyes, No. 14 Irish in Redwood Shores

No. 9 Bears' varsity 8 boat battles No. 2 Cavs, No. 5 Buckeyes, No. 14 Irish in Redwood Shores

March 25, 2008

Cal Men's Crew Opens Season at Pac-10 Challenge

BERKELEY - The California women's crew opens the 2008 season with the Pac-10 Challenge presented by Windermere this Saturday and Sunday, March 29-30, in Redwood Shores, Calif. This year's regatta features three Pac-10 teams - the Golden Bears, host Stanford and UCLA - along with several other top schools in the Division I ranks. Cal's varsity eight boat is ranked ninth in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national poll and will compete against the likes of No. 2 Virginia, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 14 Notre Dame this weekend.

"With the three Pac-10 schools - Cal, Stanford and UCLA - going up against Virginia, Ohio State and Notre Dame, there's going to be some great racing," 10th-year Cal head coach Dave O'Neill said. "There will be a lot of people around the country very interested in the results."

The Cal varsity eight schedule includes the Virginia race at approximately 9:24 a.m. on Saturday, the Ohio State race at about 4:52 p.m. on Saturday and the Notre Dame race at approximately 9:24 a.m. on Sunday.

The complete schedule for the Pac-10 Challenge is available on Stanford's Web site at http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-crew/spec-rel/08-pac10-challenge.html.

Scouting the Bears
Coming off a 2007 season in which they placed seventh at the NCAA Championships, the Bears look to return to contention and possibly reach the heights of 2005 and 2006, when they won the overall NCAA team titles. With most of last season's squad intact and an infusion of new young talent, two-time CRCA Coach of the Year Dave O'Neill has his Bears poised for another strong year.

Cal is mentioned at length in the 2008 College Preview issue of Rowing News, which makes "Our Case for Cal" in publisher Chip Davis' opening letter. Davis, whose magazine put the Cal men on the cover of the college preview, praises both the Cal men and women and points out that Rowing News put the eventual 2006 women's NCAA runner-up (Princeton) and eventual 2007 men's IRA champion (Washington) on the covers of its college previews in those years.

All-American and co-captain Mara Allen is back for her final season as a Bear after competing for the U.S. national team and O'Neill at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships. Seniors Candice Rediger, Onna Poeter, Ali Seders, Maggie Devine and Summer Ohlendorf, who were part of Cal's 2005 and 2006 success, provide plenty of veteran talent and leadership for the Bears.

The junior class features Krista Ellis, who coxed Cal's varsity eight last year, Elena Humphreys, Melissa Herman, Emmie Koenig, Katy Milton, Lauren Nowinski, Kaiti Seders and Sam Silvia, who rowed in Cal's Pac-10 champion second varsity eight last year. Lou Kinder is Cal's other co-captain and a member of a strong sophomore class that includes Eeva Karppinen, who rowed in the varsity eight as a freshman in 2007, Taryn O'Connell, who joined Allen at the 2007 World U-23 Championships, Kelsey Bates, Kristen Campbell and Adrienne Keller.

Cal also boasts freshmen Mary Jeghers, Bridget Moran and Sam Sartor. Moran and Sartor competed in the pair for Canada at the World Junior Championships last summer in Beijing. Moran and Sartor defeated Australia to win the B final and finish seventh overall.

Scouting the Field
The Pac-10 Challenge boasts some of the nation's top talent from all around the country. Virginia brings the second-ranked varsity eight into the contest. The Cavaliers finished 2007 as the overall runner-up to Brown at the 2007 NCAA Championships. More recently, UVa put three eights among the top six boats (finishing 2nd, 3rd and 6th) in the 2007 Princeton Chase, one of the fall's top East Coast regattas.

Ohio State finished third overall after its varsity eight, currently ranked fifth, took second place at the NCAA Championships last season. Fifthteenth-ranked Notre Dame placed 12th in the varsity eight and second varsity eight and also claimed 11th in the varsity four to finish 12th overall at NCAAs last year.

The varsity eights for Stanford and UCLA are ranked 10th and 12th, respectively, this season. The Cardinal finished ahead of 13th-place Cal in the varsity eight at the 2007 NCAAs, taking 10th, while the UCLA eight finished 14th. Last fall in the 2007 Head of the Charles, Stanford placed seventh in the varsity eight championship and fifth in the fours championship.

2007 in Review
Cal claimed seventh at NCAAs last season after its varsity eight took 13th place, its second varsity eight placed second and its varsity four finished third. Brown was the 2007 overall champion and Virginia was runner-up. At the Pac-10 Championships, Cal finished second behind top-ranked USC, after the Bears captured the second varsity eight title and placed third in the varsity eight race.

The Bears ended last season ranked eighth in the final USRowing/CRCA poll, which came out before the beginning of the NCAA Championships.

Cal Women's Crew History
Cal women's crew was founded in 1974. The Bears have been a successful crew team since their origin, winning the Pacific Coast intercollegiate title just a year later in 1975. Cal won an impressive four Pacific Coast championships in its first five years as an intercollegiate team. In 1980, the Bears won the National Women's Rowing Association (NWRA)National Championship, Cal's first ever varsity national championship in any women's sport.

In 2004, the Bears returned to the top, winning their first Pac-10 championship. In 2005 and 2006, the Bears continued their success in the Pac-10, while adding consecutive NCAA team championships to the crew's illustrious history. The 2005 Cal varsity eight set an NCAA record for fastest race (6:20.7) on its way to an undefeated season.

Up Next:
Bears Visit Longhorns
After the Pac-10 Rowing Challenge, Cal competes against Texas on April 12 in Austin, Texas.