USD Rowing Teams Celebrate 40th Anniversary, Compete at Crew Classic

Local rowing’s biggest weekend of the year has arrived, the 45th San Diego Crew Classic, and it will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 24-25, at Mission Bay. The University of San Diego’s men and women’s teams will be right in the middle of all the action since it is a home meet. The word "home" will hold extra special meaning, too, as many of Torero rowing's alumni members return home for a celebration.

The San Diego Crew Classic, one of the largest regattas on the west coast, will bring thousands of spectators and competitors alike for a weekend of racing, food and reunion. For USD's programs, the 2017-18 academic year marks the 40th anniversary of USD rowing’s inaugural season.

Saturday morning there will be USD teams competing in Crew Classic preliminary races. For those who represent the programs’ rich history, they'll convene for a special 40th anniversary event on Saturday evening starting at 6 p.m. in USD's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. The event will recognize the accomplishments of both the men's and women's rowing programs. The reception will be accompanied with food and drinks. Online registration has closed, but single tickets are $125 and recent USD grad (2007-17) are $50 each.

Sunday, when the Crew Classic’s final races take place, USD fans and alumni are encouraged to cheer on the Torero teams and also enjoy the “Torero Cantina” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the USD Alumni Tent at Crown Point Mission Bay.

Crew Classic: USD Men’s Rowing

The San Diego men's rowing team, under the direction of longtime head coach Brooks Dagman and top assistant coach David Janiak, will compete in its third home race of the season at the San Diego Crew Classic this weekend. 

On Saturday, the V8+ is the first USD men’s crew to race. Event 12, the American Specialty Health Cup, begins at 8:16 a.m. The first- and second-place finishers of each heat advance to the A final while the third and fourth compete in the petite final and fifth and sixth in the third. All finals take place Sunday. USD’s V8+ team consists of senior coxswain Will Graf, Sam Jones, Owen Chase, Connor Olson, Brennan McManus, Ben Thibeau, Max O'Toole, Travis Heft and Eric Hoster down the course.

The 2V8+ will race in Event 14, the Sharp Memorial, at 10 a.m. The same progression to the finals applies. The unit consists of freshman coxswain Charlotte Harrison, Grady Koepele, Simon Finnie, Sam Stephens, Jerome Yankey, Jack Orr, Lucas Walbeck, Evan Ferree, and Evan Nassar. 

The 3V8+ will race in a straight final on Sunday at 8:48 a.m. The team has coxswain Alejandro Armenta, Cade Kirschman, Michael Darby, Sammy Foglio, Terence Gourmelen, Casey Donovan, Harrison Badawi, Hunter Pflueger, and Reid Salamack. 

Crew Classic: USD Women’s Rowing

The San Diego women’s rowing team is preparing for its most competitive home race of the season, the San Diego Crew Classic, and it will also serve as a great chance for USD alumni to meet first-year USD women’s rowing head coach and 2012 U.S. Olympian Sarah Trowbridge.

The USD women’s varsity eight will race in the Jessop-Whittier Cup, the first of the day for the Toreros. The heats start at 9:24 a.m. Saturday. The first through third-place finishers of each heat move on to the A final on Sunday, while the fourth through sixth vie in the petite final. 

The 2V8+ will race down the course an hour later in the Jackie Ann Stitt event at 10:24 a.m. Saturday. Only the first and second-place finishers will race in the A final Sunday while the third and fourth will race in the petite final, and the fifth and sixth move on to the third final. 

The V4+ heats directly follow 2V eights. In the Karen Plumleigh event, the varsity four heats begin at 10:48 a.m. Saturday. The same progression to the finals as the 2V eights apply to the four event.

For updates on the USD rowing teams at the Crew Classic, be sure to visit usdtoreros.com. For more information on tickets, other teams, race schedules and more, please visit the San Diego Crew Classic website.

— USD Athletics