Varsity 8+'s Battle Against Best in Crew Classic

The Varsity Men's and Women's 8+'s from Illinois started their season against a field of predominantly California crews in the San Diego Crew Classic. The Illini flew to San Diego the Thursday prior to the race from Atlanta after training in Gainesville, GA over the first half of Spring Break.The Varsity Men took to the water first in the 2nd heat of the Men's Collegiate Varsity event. The crew, stroked by Junior Alex Cosman, kept with the pack up to the 800m mark of the 2000m race. After hitting some rough water mid-race, the crew fell off the pack, losing contact with the pack led by eventual Bronze medalists Santa Clara by the 1000m mark. The crew finished the race in 6th, advancing to the C Finals in the afternoon. Their afternoon final had a similar tone, but the Illini were able to shave off 6 seconds from their morning performance.The Varsity Women's raced in the 2nd heat of the DII/DIII/Club Women's 8+ Saturday morning. The Women lost contact with the leading pack early in the race. The heat was won by Orange Coast College, the eventual Silver medalist. The Women advanced to the Petite Finals Sunday morning which they won by a wide amount of open water, outclassing 2nd place Chapman University with a victory margin of 1 minute, 25 seconds.This early season race serves as a benchmark for the Illinois squads. The field of experienced California schools are the toughest possible test for the Illini after only 7 days on the water. The Illinois Rowing Club's will next race as a full team in the Don Lubber's Cup on April 11th, while select athletes will participate in a friendly scrimmage in Chicago the day before Easter on Lincoln Park Lagoon.