April 25, 2009- On a sunny morning with a solid head wind the Bruins swept both races in the annual dual.

The novice 8 had two entries from UCLA and one from USC. The Bruin’s ‘A’ entry took the lead after 250 meters and gradually increased their advantage throughout the race to win by 16 seconds over the Trojans followed by the UCLA ‘B’ boat. “It felt great! 6-man Scott Goddard said. It was good to get a win and especially against our biggest rival.” “I was very proud of the guys today, stated Coach Rob Hermann. They have been working very hard so I am glad they could see it paying off.”

The Bruin varsity crew was able to recover from a missed stroke off the start to take the lead near the 750 meter mark. The Trojans were pressing hard in the first thousand as the margin between the crews was only a couple of seats. “We recovered well from the slow start, found our rhythm and had a powerful third 500,”stated 6-seat Darius Faizi.

UCLA was able to take control of the race in the 3rd 500 and opened it up to an 11 second margin at the finish. “It was a solid piece for the guys. It was good to see them keep their composure after the poor start and put together a full 2k,” said Coach Paul Mokha.

After racing, the graduating seniors; Ken Fukuda, Jake Kaye, Dan Prasch, Marshall Knight and four year seniors Martin Reschke and Nikki Magdaleno were recognized with this being their last home race. This was followed by a barbeque and parent row.

The UCLA Varsity 8 will compete at the Opening Day Regatta in Seattle on Saturday May 2.