The Bruins have again defended their home course with a stunning victory over USC, keeping the Bob Hillen Cup in Marina Del Rey for the ninth consecutive year.

The UCLA Novice "A" Boat started the race with a half-boat length's lead over USC's only Novice Squad, maintaining and eventually expanding their margin towards the end of the race.
"Anytime they made a move, we saw it and pushed through the pain to keep ahead…I thought this was our best race yet" said junior Kegan Smith, who rowed in five seat.
Freshman Zak Myers, having been stroke seat of the "A" boat only three times prior to the race, said that it was a strong mental performance for the boat.
"It was a solid and composed row from the whole boat, especially considering it was a race where emotions were running high," Myers said.
The Novice "A" Boat finished with a time of 7:02, seven seconds faster than USC. Freshman Margaret Akey, coxswain of the "A" Boat, described the race in one word: "bow-ball". The Novice "B" Boat trailed behind with a time of 8:00.
The Varsity race saw even wider margins between the boats, making the competition for the Bob Hillen Cup seem anticlimactic to those watching from the shores of Ballona Creek.
The Varsity "A" Boat finished with a 7:21.5 against a strong headwind and current, beating USC's time of 8:15 by almost one minute. Sophomore Trevor Phillips, stroke seat of the "A" Boat, believes that his boat's ability to row efficiently in the face of harsh conditions is what led UCLA to beat USC by such a large margin.
"We were able to keep the movements precise and efficient so we could pull ahead when other crews started to die out," Phillips said.
The Varisty "B" Boat also performed well, beating USC by 20 seconds with a time of 7:55.
"I'm impressed with my boat for putting a good race together and (we're) hoping we can carry this momentum into (the Pac-12 Championships) and ACRA". Phillips said.