Strong Outings from Competitors too much for LBS Rowing at Newport Regatta
Photo and video by Faii Athiprayoon
By Sean McCrea
Men’s Varsity Rower.
The 52nd annual Newport Regatta had a similar feel to the Newport Chase that was fogged out back in the fall. A 30 minute delay was announced some time before the first race. Fortunately the fog cleared up and all races took place as planed with only a minor delay. Conditions were more than exceptional for racing on this day.
The novice were up first in the Men’s Novice 8+ event. The novices put down a good effort but it wasn’t enough as they placed 6th of 7 with a time of 7:08. Orange Coast College won with a 6:06, followed by Irvine and Santa Barbara both in the 6:30’s. USC, UCLA, and SDSU were the other competitors.
Next up were the varsity lightweights representing LB in the Men’s Varsity 4+ event. They fought hard and finished 5th of 7 with a time of 7:34. Defending WIRA MV4+ gold medal winner LMU took down this race with a solid 6:58 as they look to build on their success from last season.
Click the link for video of the 8’s. LBS V8+ in the furthest lane.
Finally the Men’s Varsity 8+ event was up to round out the day. After a shaky start, the men hit their stride for a good portion of the race. Hit a few more rough patches before the final sprint and ended up getting 7th of 7 with a time of 6:31. USD beat out OCC by 1 second with blazing fast times of 5:55 and 5:56. UCI edged out UCSB for 3rd by three tenths of a second, the crews finished with times of 5:59.47 and 5:59.77. SDSU and UCLA came in 5th and 6th place respectively with times in the 6:15 range.
The novice and varsity crews for Long Beach are getting faster by the day and it is showing in the times we are putting out in practice and during Regattas. We will have to continue to work hard everyday to make progress as we prepare for San Diego Crew Classic in the beginning of April. ROW BEACH!
