By Jessica Bach
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s rowing team will prepare to send its
40 athletes to join with the already 3,300 other rowers for this
weekend’s 29th annual San Diego Crew Classic Regatta.
As the largest mainland regatta for eight-person boats in the
nation, this will be the biggest competition the team will face all
season.
“With so many other teams competing it adds a certain
pressure,” sophomore starboard Irene Condella said.
“But we want to step up and really be prepared for
them.”
There will be over 70 school fielding boats, including
top-ranked teams from each of the four regions such as Yale, Ohio
State, Notre Dame, Washington and USC.
“Sure it’s easy to be intimidated and can be
daunting at times, especially since this is our first year at the
varsity level,” Condella said. “But you have to
hold your head high and do your best.”
Races will begin on Saturday, where UCLA will enter three boats
in the Varsity 8, the JV 8, and the Novice 8. The varsity will
compete in the Women’s Cal Cup with 21 other
schools. Competing against established school with strong
programs like Duke and USC has forced the Bruins to aim for
realistic goals.
“Of course we would like to win the cup,” Condella
said. “But with all these strong teams there we have to look
at more likely expectations. What we are really hoping to do is to
qualify for Sunday’s races.”
Ultimately, the tough competition will provide a learning tool
for the team.
“After putting the focus on our race, it will be nice to
step back and look at these programs,” Condella said.
“And maybe see how we can learn to feed off their
speed.”