Crew Teams Head South For San Diego Crew Classic
March 31, 2000
CORVALLIS, Ore. - -
SCHEDULE: Both the men's and women's teams will row in the San Diego Crew Classic Apr. 1-2. For the men, it will be their first competition of the season. The women rowed last week on the Snake River against No. 21 Washington State and Victoria.
OSU RANKED: Both the women's and men's varsity eights are ranked in the USRowing National Collegiate Rowing Coaches Poll. The women are 17th, and the men are 15th to start the season. Other regional teams in the men's top 20 include California (1), Washington (3), and Stanford (17). Regional women's teams in the top 20 are California (4), and Washington and Southern California tied for fifth.
OSU MEN'S COACH DAVID REISCHMAN ON THE RACE: "It's kind of like the preseason NIT in Rowing. Seven of the top 10 teams are there, and we're number 15. Only six make the final race. Our goal is to have the speed we want by the Pac-10 Championships and NCAAs. This is more of a race to see if we have the base speed or not to see if we're going to be in the hunt."
REISCHMAN ON THE COURSE: "This course always comes under close scrutiny. It's on Mission Bay, so there's a tricky crosswind, which can kind of skew the lane advantages. It's not a championship-level racecourse, but the kids look forward to the San Diego trip," Reischman said in reference to many of the schools who compete in the Classic coming from colder weather in the North and East.
PRACTICE: "Practice has been going great," Reischman said. "We've had a few injury problems, but the guys are working extremely hard and are making some changes. They're putting out a lot of effort."
LAST ACTION: The men have not rowed yet this spring, but the women were on the water Mar. 25. Oregon State's second novice eight captured a win for the No. 17 Beavers, but the Varsity eight was upset by the No. 21 WSU squad and the University of Victoria (No. 1 among Canadian Universities) on the Snake River. The second novice eight win over the Cougars was OSU's first in a very long time, according to OSU coach Charlie Owen.
