[Photos] San Diego Crew Classic, 2014: RR Editors' Picks



This year's running of Crew Classic in San Diego was marked, more than anything, by large margins in the marquee races, and saw defending champions on the men's and women's sides take titles once again on Mission Bay. While we didn't post picks and predictions for San Diego this year, it was a good measuring stick for our preseason rankings. And, while there were a few surprises, in most cases the results confirmed our suspicions.

At the collegiate level, arguably the most impressive performances of the regatta came from the California men and the Washington women—while UW didn't manage to wrestle the Jessop-Whittier Cup from USC's vise-grip, the Huskies and Golden Bears showed off their depth as well as excellent top-end speed over the course of the two-day regatta. The Cal men's varsity eight (RR preseason No. 1) absolutely dominated the Copley Cup final, winning by roughly eight seconds over Northeastern ( RR No. 5), who finished eight seconds ahead of Stanford (RR No. 8). On the women's side, Washington (our preseason No. 5) placed second in the varsity eight, second in the 2V, and won the women's novice eight event. The Trojan women showed that they will be a force once again, winning the varsity eight and both varsity four events, and placing a close third in the 2V grand final. Hometown favorites USD also posted strong results, even edging Wisconsin and UCLA in the varsity eight to take fourth overall.

At the Cal Cup level, our ACRA preseason No. 3 Grand Valley State took the title by just over a length, while on the women's side a transplanted Canadian rivalry saw British Columbia edge the University of Victoria for the crown by roughly three seconds. In the lightweight events, our preseason No. 1 Stanford lightweight women looked very strong, winning their fourth straight Crew Classic, and will likely be competing for a fifth consecutive IRA title this spring, while Purdue took an open water victory over the field on the men's side.

Junior rowing in California is always strong, and once again Marin and Oakland were duking it out for the podium on Mission Bay. This year, Oakland won a double victory in the women's events, taking the varsity and second varsity, while Marin matched this feat on the men's side, also adding a victory in the junior lightweight eight. Long Beach Junior Crew, Marina AC and Newport AC also had strong showings, with Long Beach winning the junior women's lightweight eight and defending their 2013 title.

For complete results, please visit the official website of the San Diego Crew Classic.

-RR

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