March 29, 2005

Los Angeles- The USC women's rowing team travels to San Diego this week for the 32nd Annual San Diego Crew Classic held at Mission Bay on Saturday and Sunday April 2-3. The two-day event begins Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and concludes Sunday at 2 p.m. The Women of Troy's Varsity Eight boat, which won the Crew Classic's Jessop Whittier Cup in 2001 and is currently ranked 14th in the CRCA/US Rowing preseason poll, will be competing against six of the top 20 teams.

The San Diego Crew Classic is the largest multi-laned regatta for Eights in the United States. It will showcase more than 3,400 athletes ranging from juniors to masters to Olympians.

The Trojans will compete in the women's Varsity Eight, JV Eight, Novice Eight and Open Eight divisions. The preliminary heats will take place on Saturday at 8:50 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:40 p.m. respectively.

The top qualifiers from Saturday's races will compete in the grand finals on Sunday, while the second group of top times will advance to the Petite Finals for places 7-12.

Last season, USC's Varsity and JV Eight finished sixth and fifth, respectively, in their races. The Women of Troy's Novice Eight placed ninth in their division for the second year in a row.

The Trojans are coming off a season-opening victory, 3-2, over UCLA on March 20, after beating the Bruins in the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four. In the JV Eight, USC and UCLA finished in a dead heat and neither team received points.

This Week: 32nd Annual San Diego Crew Classic Date: Saturday and Sunday, April 2 & 3, 2005 Location: San Diego, Calif. (Crown Point Shore on Mission Bay) Website: www.crewclassic.org

Address: San Diego Crew Classic 1218 El Carmel Place San Diego, CA 92109

Directions From Los Angeles: Take the I-5 South. Exit Route 5 at the Balboa and Garnet exit. Go right (west) on Garnet Street to a "Y" junction and stay left on Balboa. Immediately after Balboa merges with Grand Avenue, turn left onto Lamont Street. Go straight (south) on Lamont approximately 8 blocks and cross Crown Point Drive at the "Yield" sign. Trailer parking is down the hill to the first left and car parking is down the hill to the left further on.