OCC’s annual Newport Regatta took place Sunday, March 24th, in Newport Beach, CA. LBSU Men’s Crew took the short trip down PCH to OCC’s boathouse located by the North Lido Channel. The 2k sprint race day consisted of three total races for the oarsmen.

Starting off at 7:45 am, the Novice 4+ rowed to defend the Frank Marscellas Cup. The cup was won last year by the previous Novice 4+. The boat came in fourth place overall this year, with a total time of 7:24.29 seconds. ASU took first with a 12 second lead on the Novices. 8:00 am brought the Norman E. Watson Cup race, showcasing the Men’s Novice 8+. The LBSU Novice A boat took an overall third place out of the four boats competing for the cup. Their time came to 7:21.33 seconds. Finally, the Men’s Varsity 4+’s raced for the Condon Johnson Cup at 9:00 am. LBSU Varsity 4+ took fourth place in their heat, at 7:21.2, placing them 7th overall. OCC’s boat came in behind them at 8:05.25 seconds.

Above: The Novice 8+ is ready to launch! (From left to right) Pictured is Novice Coxswain Pablo Santos, Dennis Livshyts, Dylan Jones “DJ”, Thibault Vergne “Thibbs”, Bryan Vu, Bryan Repreza, Francisco Javier Correa, and Nate Sokhom-khou.

Three races into the season, the Novice rowers have begun reflecting on their progress in the sport.

“I definitely feel as though I’m progressing individually,” said Isaac Gordon, fall semester recruit and first year at CSULB, “…the spring races have honestly been a lot harder than I expected, because I felt so comfortable in the longer distance fall regattas. The shorter sprints are definitely exponentially more difficult, and have us practicing in new ways. I definitely feel as though I’m progressing, and that my abilities both on the water and on the ergs are getting better every meter”.

Isaac and the other members of Beach Crew crew look forward to WIRA from here and to attending Newport Regatta next spring. Thank you to OCC and to all the competition on the water!

Row Beach!

For more information and ClockCaster results visit: https://clockcaster.com/e/6

Beach Crew’s second regatta of the season took place in Marina Del Ray, California. Hosted by UCLA Rowing, the events took place on Sunday, March 10^th, with a forecast of sunny skies and smooth water. Special guest rowers from Orange’s Chapman University joined LBSU for a composite Varsity 8 and a Novice 8 boat.

UCLA Classic held 2k sprints in a total of nine different races. Long Beach, along with Chapman rowers, rowed in the Varsity 8 at 9am. LBSU Novice 8A+ and a composite LBSU/CHAP Novice 8+ rowed at 9:40am. Both the Novice 8’s and Varsity 8 raced in their respective petite finals later on. Finally, the Varsity 4+ competed at 10:30am.

Long Beach Varsity, along with Chapman Varsity oarsmen, Rob Farmer and Finn Grant, placed 4^th in the V8 race. Their overall time came to 7:09.2 sec. Continuing to the Petite Final, LBSU and CHAP placed 4^th once again. The two Novice 8 boats, LBSU Novice A and LBSU/CHAP composite Novice 8, raced in the 9:40am heat. LBSU Novice A came in 3^rd (time: 7:09.14sec) and the LBSU/CHAP Novice 8 came in 4^th (time: 8:17.58sec). Both boats raced in the Petite Final; LBSU Novice A took 2^nd place with a time of 7:20.57 sec (just 2 seconds behind UCI Novice A!). Unfortunately, the LBSU/CHAP composite Novice 8 did not finish the race due to breakage. Finally, the Varsity 4+ raced and took 2^nd place in their heat, chasing after UCLA for first. The Varsity 4+ finished with a time of 7:42.62, with UCLA finishing with a time of 7:39.6sec.

Above: LBSU Varsity 4+ capturing the moment after taking 2nd place! Varsity crew (from left to right) Phoebe Evans, Chris Marinas, Brayden Bruggeman, Brandon Freijanes, and Ehab Elrashidy.

Once again, UCLA’s marina provided beautiful conditions on a clear day. Varsity continues the chase to WIRA, hoping for continued growth. The Novices, some with a semester of experience and some with just a few weeks of training, work together on and off the water, striving to represent LBSU competitively. Additionally, with one Novice boat not finishing from breakage, the new rowers learn to “roll with the punches”, maintaining a positive attitude.

Thank you to UCLA Rowing for hosting!

For more information, visit the ClockCaster link: https://clockcaster.com/e/25

On Sunday, March 3^rd, Men’s crew, along with novices recruited this season, drove to the Port of LA for the Gruenberg Cup Race. Hosted annually by USC Men’s Rowing, the nearly straight course provided predictable water conditions for the sprint events.

Beach Crew gathered by the LA water to compete against familiar competitors: USC and SDSU. The event consisted of three total heats: Mixed 8 at 8:00am, Novice 4+ at 9:00am, and Varsity 4+ at 9:20am.. Two LBSU Novice 8’s raced in the first event, the first coming in 4^th overall and the second coming in 7^th. In the second race, four Novice 4’s competed. LBSU 1N4+ came in 2^nd overall with a time of 8:10.5, 16 seconds behind USC’s novices. LBSU 2N4+ followed after, claiming 4^th place, while LBSU 3N4+ finished in 6^th. With 1^st place just within reach for the A boat, the novices were left hungry for more, and the rest remain eager to climb the ranks this season.

The final race sent Beach Crew’s varsity four out on the water, taking 3^rd place in their race. Moving forward, varsity continues to put their best effort out on the water, making strides and changes to find rhythm and connection together.

Above: Getting on point! Views from the bow in the Varisty 4+. Captured by second-year coxswain Phoebe Evans.

On the water, the forecasted cloudy weather ensured that the Beach crew’s newest coxswains had the perfect opportunity to learn more about the 2k season and the skills involved. Off the water and by the trailers, the rowers kept busy during downtime in between races. This became the time to discuss and compare the spring season and fall season.

“I expected spring races to be a lot easier than fall races”, Blake Koford, a fall recruit, commented, “…they are much shorter but the intensity required for a 2k makes it much harder than fall races”. Koford rowed two seat in the Novice 8.

For more information and ClockCaster results visit: https://clockcaster.com/e/9

Above: Gruenberg Cup race results

Check back soon for more updates on the team progression this spring!

Thank you to USC crew for hosting once again, see you out on the water soon.