May 2, 2008

The Women of Troy will meet UCLA in a dual meet on Saturday, May 3 in San Pedro, Calif. This race will be the final regular season race for USC before the Pac-10 Championships. The meet will kick off at 8:30 am with the varsity four race. Next up the second varsity eight will take to the course at 8:50 am. At 9:10 am the varsity eight will race. The novice eight will round out the dual at 9:30 am.

The dual race winner is determined by a point system similar to the one used at the Pac-10 Championships. Three (3) points will be awarded to the varsity eight winner, two (2) to the JV eight winner and one (1) point apiece to the winners of the varsity four and novice eight race for a total of seven possible points.

Potential Lineups for the Race will be posted soon.

RACE HISTORY USC and UCLA began racing annually in 2002, the year that UCLA resurrected its rowing program with the Women of Troy winning all six dual meetings. Including the unofficial 2nd varsity four race, the Trojans have now won 15 of the 24 individual head to head races in the six-year annual dual and also own a 6-0 record overall against the Bruins since the inception of the Lexus Gauntlet. The Trojan varsity eight have never lost a dual race to UCLA and the JV eight holds a 4-2 record with a loss last year in 2007 by 6 seconds to the Lady Bruins. UCLA and USC are tied in varsity four races with a 3-3 record. The novice eight boat was beaten by UCLA in 2007, but in 2006 the Women of Troy got the victory. Prior to that victory, the Bruins had won the three previous novice boat meetings, with no novice race taking place in 2004.

LEXUS GAUNTLET Within the USC-UCLA Lexus Gauntlet competition, the season-long battle between Trojans and Bruins in all sports, five points for women's rowing are awarded to the winner of the annual dual race. USC currently leads 57.5-37.5 in the Gauntlet race this year. If rowing were to beat UCLA, or if USC were to win either of this weekend's track meets against UCLA, the Trojans would clinch the Gauntlet.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL The Women of Troy varsity eight lost a close race to Stanford in the Stanford Invitational on April 20, but recorded victories over Central Florida and Victoria on the first day of the regatta, April 19. The varsity four won their races over Stanford, Victoria and Central Florida. The second varsity rounded things out with wins against Stanford, Central Florida and Santa Clara.