April 30, 2008

BERKELEY - California will battle Stanford in the Big Row on Saturday, May 3, in Redwood Shores, Calif. The Golden Bears' top-ranked varsity eight will square off with the eighth-ranked Cardinal at 9:30 a.m. Cal will also take on Stanford in the second varsity eight at 10 a.m. and in the varsity four at 10:30 a.m.

(Cal men's crew will also compete against Stanford on Saturday, May 3, in Redwood Shores.)

Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal has had a strong season so far, with its varsity eight claiming a 5-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking. Cal's unbeaten varsity eight has now won races against five teams - Texas, Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Washington - that may be racing at the NCAA Championships. 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. The Bears swept Texas in their first visit to the Lone Star State on April 12 and topped the then-No. 15 Washington varsity eight in a Pac-10 dual on April 26 in Redwood Shores.

Dave O'Neill, a three-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national Coach of the Year and two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, is in his 10th year as head coach of Cal. He led the Golden Bears to overall NCAA championships in 2005 and 2006 and Pac-10 championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Scouting the Cardinal
At its last competition, the April 19-20 Stanford Invitational, the Cardinal varsity eight lost to Washington State but defeated UCLA and USC. The Stanford second varsity eight lost by 6.8 seconds to Washington State, 11.57 seconds to UCLA and 5.52 seconds to USC. The Cardinals' varsity four lost to both UCLA and USC.

Former U.S. national team coxswain Yasmin Farooq is in her second year as head coach of Stanford.