Pirates take home Palmer Cup at Newport Regatta!
NEWPORT BEACH -- The Orange Coast College men's crew used a pair of wins in the novice races and some strong times in the varsity races to pick up the 2014 Palmer Cup at Sunday's Newport Regatta.
Racing against Chapman, Loyola Marymount, USC, San Diego State, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and the University of San Diego, the Pirates competed in five of the seven races held inside the Newport Harbor and collected three first-place honors, one third place and one fourth place.
To win the P.A. Palmer Cup, points are collected in four races -- 2nd Novice 8, Novice 8, 2nd Varsity 8 and Varsity 8, with six points awarded for first place, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.
Coast finished the regatta with 17 points, followed by USD (16), USCB (15), UCLA (7), SDSU (4) and UCI (4).
In the 2nd Novice 8, Coast and UCSB battled the entire length of the 2,000-meter course before the Pirates edged out the Gauchos with a winning time of 6 minutes, 52.8. UCSB finished with a 6:53.2.
Much like the 2nd Novice, OCC's Novice 8 rowed head-to-head with another top crew -- this one coming from USD. The Pirates and Toreros took control of the race before OCC crossed the finish line first with a time of 6:16, one second ahead of USD's 6:17.1.
Those two edge-outs gave the Pirates the needed points to claim the overall title. USD took first in both the 2nd Varsity 8 (6:13) and Varsity 8 (6:04.7). Coast finished third and fourth, respectively, in both of those events.
Coast will head down to Mission Bay for the 2014 San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday, April 5.
