Bears Defeat Washington At Henley Royal Regatta

HENLEY, UK – The Cal men's rowing team saw its fours earn a split on Thursday in the Prince Albert Cup Challenge at the Henley Royal Regatta. The Bears' "A" boat defeated rival Washington, while the "B" group fell to a boat from Oxford Brooks University.

"The morning race was a great performance by the coxed four," said head coach Scott Frandsen. "Really impressive of them to stay internal and race their race with Washington up on them. Battling back and taking the lead around the halfway mark and we were able to control the race from there. Really proud of their composure."

The "A" consisted of Illiad Izadi (cox), Tommy Barrell (stroke), Fred Roper, Balthasar Issa, and Evan Lane (bow). They began the race trailing the Huskies for the first three minutes of the race. Cal charged back and took control with a third of the course to go and held on to win by just under a length, finishing with a time of 7:01.

"In the later race, the guys absolutely went after it and gave a full effort," said Frandsen. "They didn't the rhythm that they wanted to but physically left it all out on the race course."

Battling a boat from Oxford Brooks University, the Cal "B" boat of Ryan Prendergast (cox), Tyler Kurth (stroke), Alex Langstone Bolt, Michael Chandler, and Josh Anderson (bow), fell behind early and could not make up the distance.
 
The busy schedule of racing continues tomorrow when the Varsity eight compete in the prestigious Ladies' Plate Cup Challenge. The Bears will take on a boat from Thames Rowing Club and Army Rowing Club at 3:00 p.m. EST/7:00 a.m. PT. The four will race against Newcastle at 6:50 p.m. EST/10:50 a.m. PT.
 
"The Ladies' Plate is very excited to get racing tomorrow," added Frandsen. "They are tired of sitting around waiting for their chance, excited to get them out on the race course."

Both races will be streamed online and can be accessed here.

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