USD May Find Itself in Over Its Head

SAN DIEGO — When the University of San Diego women’s crew won the Cal Cup varsity eight race a year ago at the San Diego Crew regatta, Coach John Ciani said it was the greatest thing to happen to him in rowing.

After their six-second victory over UC Santa Barbara, team members drank champagne on the beach from their trophy.

USD rowers say they’ll get together again after the 14th annual regatta Saturday on Mission Bay. But don’t count on a victory celebration.

“We just hope we’re able to have a good race,” said Judy Bubien, a junior.

The USD men’s crew also won the Cal Cup varsity eight race a year ago, beating Santa Barbara by five seconds. But the chances are the men won’t celebrate a victory Saturday, either.

In the San Diego Crew regatta, teams that win the Cal Cup varsity eight races are eligible to race against the nation’s best in the Grand Final races the next year. For the first time, USD’s women will race in the Whittier Cup Grand Final, and the men will race in the Copley Cup.

Ciani says he’s not so sure he knows why he was so happy after the victory last year.

“It almost makes you wish you could race in the Cal Cup again,” Ciani said after he looked at the list of opponents his women’s team will face Saturday. Among them are defending national champion Wisconsin (last year’s Whittier Cup winner), Washington (second in last year’s Whittier Cup) and New Hampshire.

“There’s no question we have to hope for something like a miracle to win this race,” said Lisa Shine, a senior who was a member of USD’s winning crew last year. “Maybe a big storm or something. . . . We’re praying before every race.”

For the men, such crew powers as Wisconsin (defending national champion), Penn (Copley Cup winner last year) and Washington await.

“Can we win? Well, maybe the sea will part or something,” USD Coach Joe Flohr said. “In this situation, we’re just happy to be a part of it. You don’t get many chances to measure yourself against the best, but we’ll get that chance this Saturday.”

Chances are, “the best” aren’t too worried.

Last year, after their Cal Cup victory, members of the USD women’s team were celebrating on the beach when a couple members of the Washington men’s team stopped by.

“They were pretty rude, to put it mildly,” said Sharon Kavanagh, the coxswain of the Torero boat. “They were asking us where we were from and we said, ‘USD.’ They asked how we did in the crew (regatta) and we told them we won.

“Their response was something like, ‘Big deal, it’s only the Cal Cup.’ ”

Said Flohr: “You know, what those guys said about it only being the Cal Cup is really true. We’re not on their level and we know that.”

But, for one day at least, USD teams will be in the same waters.

“Hey, this is a great opportunity for us,” said Nancy Nadeau, a junior. “We want to go out and give it our best. Last year, winning the Cal Cup was a peak experience. Maybe we can get that same feeling again.”

Said Ciani: “When I rowed, I never had a chance to face crews of this caliber. It should be real exciting for our team.”

Crew Notes

How might the defending Copley Cup champion fare? “This is our first race of the season, so it’s awfully tough for us to tell,” said Coach Stan Bergman of defending champion Penn. “We’ll really just have to wait and see.” Penn returns four rowers from its varsity eight boat that defeated California in the Copley Cup final. Penn went on to finish third in the national championships behind Wisconsin and California. . . . Racing starts Friday at noon and Saturday at 6:45 a.m. The Whittier Cup Grand Final is scheduled at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The Copley Cup, the last of Saturday’s 45 races, is scheduled at 5:35. . . . The 2,000-meter course runs from the shores near the Atlantis restaurant and heads north along Fiesta Bay, with the finish line located along Crown Point.