Pirates battle UCSB to the wire at Newport Regatta
NEWPORT BEACH -- Orange Coast College men's crew went stroke for stroke with one of the top four-year programs in California at the 51st Annual Newport Regatta on Saturday inside the Newport Harbor.
Even though nine other universities -- UCLA, USC, Long Beach State, San Diego State, UC Irvine, University of San Dieogo, Chapman, UC Santa Barbara and Coast -- battled eacher under ideal situations, it was a two-team race between the Pirates and UCSB Gauchos for the P.A. Palmer Cup (awarded to the top-point earner for the entire event).
Both the Pirates and Gauchos finished with 26 points, but the cup was awarded to UCSB by virtue of winning the Varsity 8 race with a time of 6 minutes, 7.4 seconds, less than five seconds ahead of the runner-up Pirates (6:12.2).
In the finale, the Pirates came out fast and held a boat-length lead at the halfway point of the 2,000-meter race before the Gauchos found another gear and pulled ahead of the host Pirates and held on for a boat-and-a-half-length win.
"It was a great Varsity 8 race and a great day of racing for our team as a whole," OCC head coach Cam Brown said. "UC Santa Barbara is a top-quality four-year program and to have our team hold their own with a group like that says a lot about our program and I'm excited at what the rest of this year has in store for us."
San Diego State finished third with 11 points, followed by USC (10),UCLA (4), Long Beach State (4), USC (3), UCI (2) and Chapman (0).
Coast went a perfect 3-for-3 in the novice races, with the Pirates claiming the Frank Marcellas Cup for the Novice 4 win, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:11.2, four seconds ahead of UCSB (7:15).
For the Norman E. Watson Cup (Second Novice 8), it was another strong performance for the Pirates, who won the race with a time of 6:39.35, 20 seconds better than San Diego State (6:59.59) and 25 seconds ahead of USC (7:04).
OCC's third win of the morning came in the Novice 8 race, where the Pirates won the Larry M. Moore Cup with a time of 6:34.4, edging out the rival Gauchos (6:38.8) but just over a boat-length. UCLA finished third with a time of 6:44.5, followed by LBSU (6:51.6) and SDSU (6:56.6).
UCSB took the top spot in the three varsity races, with the Gauchos claiming the Robert B. Moore Cup at Second Varsity 8 with a time of 6:22.
It was a 1-2 finish, respectively, for the Gauchos and Pirates in the Varisty 4 race, with the Gauchos claiming the Condon Johnson Cup with a time of 7:07.9 (OCC -- 7:13.7).
"Today was a good barameter for where we are and where we would like to be by the end of the season," Brown said. "The weather was great, the competition was strong and the guys rowed their hearts out -- I can't ask for much more than that."
OCC's next competition will take place on Saturday, March 26 in Marina Del Rey as the Pirates will take on the Bruins at the UCLA Dual, beginning at 7 a.m.
