San Diego, California - The San Diego State rowing team is set to race in the 45th annual San Diego Crew Classic this weekend at Crown Point Shores on Mission Bay. The Aztecs will enter three boats on Saturday, March 24, and two on Sunday, March 25. Races are set to begin around 7:30 a.m. each day.
SDSU has entered five boats over the course of the two-day event. First on Saturday, the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four ‘A’ boat will compete in heat draws to qualify for final events, while the third varsity eight and varsity four ‘B’ boat will compete in final only events on Sunday.
The Aztec V8 boat is set for its heat race in the Cal Cup on Saturday at 8:40 a.m. In the heat, SDSU is set to face Loyola Marymount, University of Victoria, University of Portland and Saint Mary’s. The top three boats in heat one and heat two (Sacramento State, Kansas State, Southern Methodist and University of British Columbia) will continue on to the Cal Cup final on Sunday at 10 a.m., while boats finishing fourth and fifth will join the fourth place finisher in heat two in the Cal Cup petite final on Sunday at 9:52 a.m.
The 2V8 heat one race for the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy is set for 10:24 a.m. on Saturday, and participants include SDSU, California, University of Oklahoma, Gonzaga, University of San Diego and Univ. of Portland. Those teams that finish first and second in heats one, two (UT-Austin, UCLA, Univ. of Tennessee, K-State, LMU and UCSB) and three (Washington State, USC, UV, Sac State, SMU and St. Mary’s) will race in the Hungness final at 9:44 a.m. on Sunday, while those boats finishing third and fourth will compete in the petite final Sunday at 9:36 a.m., and boats in fifth and six in each heat will race in the third final on Saturday at 3:38 p.m.
The final heat race for Saturday morning is the V4 ‘A’ boat competing for the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup at 11:04 a.m. The Aztecs’ V4 ‘A’ crew will be joined by USC, WSU, Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and UCSB in heat three. Heat one participants include Cal, OU, Univ. of Tennessee, USD and SMU, while heat two boats include UT-Austin, UCLA, K-State, Sac State, and Univ. of Portland. First and second place finishers from heats one, two and three will compete in the Plumleigh Cortney Cup final on Sunday at 8:24 a.m., while those earning third and fourth place slots will compete in the petite final Sunday at 8:16 a.m. Boats coming in fifth and sixth in the heat draws will compete in the third final on Saturday at 3:46 p.m.
On Sunday, the SDSU 3V8 is set to compete in the women’s open Carley Copley Cup grand final at 2:08 p.m. against Cal, Stanford, Univ. of Tennessee, K-State, UCSD and UCSB. The Aztec V4 ‘B’ boat is also set to compete in a final only draw at 11:40 a.m. against USC, UCLA, OU, Gonzaga and K-State.
The Aztecs are coming off a good weekend of racing at the Hornet Invitational in Gold River, Calif., where they logged first place finishes in seven of their events. On Saturday, SDSU claimed wins in its morning V4 race against Gonzaga’s A and B boats, as well as Sacramento State, and topped St. Mary’s V4 A and B in the afternoon event. The V8 crew nabbed a first-place time against St. Mary’s in the afternoon event on Saturday and the Sunday morning race vs. K-State, while the 2V8 finished first ahead of the Aztec 3V8 and St. Mary’s 2V8 in the afternoon. SDSU’s 3V8 topped Sac State in the morning session on Saturday and beat K-State in its Sunday morning race.
Links for live results and video of this weekend’s events will be available on GoAztecs.com. Following the Crew Classic, SDSU is scheduled to face LMU in Marina del Rey, Calif., on Saturday, April 14, at 8 a.m.