Bears Fours Advance At Henley Royal Regatta

HENLEY, UK – The Cal men's rowing team had a pair of victories in the Prince Albert Cup Challenge on Wednesday at the Henley Royal Regatta.

"Successful day for both Prince Albert fours," said head coach Scott Frandsen. "We got into some good racing and earned the right to live another day."

The two Cal boats are comprised of members of this season's second and third varsity eight crews. The day of racing began when Cal defeated Drexel in a head-to-head race and ended with a victory over Bucknell.

The "A" boat finished with a three-length lead over Drexel, clocking in with a time of 7:29 in the 2,112 race. The lineup for the "A" boat was Illiad Izadi (cox), Tommy Barrell (stroke), Fred Roper, Balthasar Issa, and Evan Lane (bow).

"They got out well aggressively like they wanted to," said Frandsen about the race. "Drexel did a good job of holding on for the first couple of minutes but the guys were able build on their lead in the second half of the race."

The "B" boat got out to a quick start and defeated Bucknell by over two lengths, finishing with a time of 7:52. The lineup for the "B" boat was Ryan Prendergast (cox), Tyler Kurth (stroke), Alex Langstone Bolt, Michael Chandler, and Josh Anderson (bow).
 
"They were able to move away fairly quickly," said Frandsen when discussing the second race. "Once they got out front, they establish a good margin and controlled the race from there."

Both boats will advance to the next round of the Prince Albert Cup Challenge. The "A" boat will race head-to-head against Pac-12 rival Washington at 10:45 a.m. BST/2:45 PT. The "B" boat will race against Oxford Brookes University "A" at 7:15 p.m. BST/11:15 am. PT

Both races can be watched via the Henley Regatta live stream. Which can be accessed here.

"As we get towards the weekend the racing will get more difficult but the guys are looking towards the challenge," said Frandsen."

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