The Bruins finish strong at Naples Island Collegiate Rowing Challenge -- also known as the Pancake Regatta-- with a double podium finish. 

UCLA set off with bow numbers 1, 3, 11;  joining 14 crews in the 4.1 km head race. The course follows Naples Island counterclockwise and finishes on the future 2028 LA Olympics venue. This race had an interval start with crews setting off every 20 seconds, and both UCLA crews were followed off the start line by a boat from rival school OCC. Throughout the race the Bruin oarsmen were offered a direct line of sight to their rivals behind, an unusual situation in rowing.

Wyatt Deverell rowed in the "A" mixed lineup – his thoughts on the race; "The first half of the course had some challenging turns on an unfamiliar course. Despite that the boat felt connected and consistent, letting us lock it down on the straight last half." The "A" boat had sights on the victory, but raced to second place, finishing 12 seconds behind OCC A. 

In the "B" mixed lineup, the race went smoothly. Freshman recruit Jagger Winkler thought his first race in the blue and yellow of UCLA went well; "We paced our race really well, and were all working together. The boat felt like it was on rails, and it was one of our better rows." The "B" boat finished 3rd, only 4 seconds behind the "A" boat and 16 seconds behind OCC. 

Seven seat of the "C" boat was Jackson Foster; "For the majority of us, this was our first time on the course as well as first head race. We kept our heads in the boat and ended up having a solid race. I'm looking forward to competing again with this group." The "C" lineup finished 12th. 

Full results of the head race can be found here.
Photos of all races can be found here.

The UCLA walk-ons performed well in their first race experience; with under 15 total days on the water. All three novice eights raced by sixes, and learned valuable lessons in higher stroke ratings and side-by-side racing. Novices Leo Wall and Emmitt Grossbard sat four and five seats in 'The Henderson Brothers' shell – pictured above. Leo remarked; "This was our first time being in a race situation and I think we handled it well. We have just scratched the surface of the type of season we are opening into". Emmitt commented "The water was watery." They are looking forward to rowing all eight in practice this week and during next weekend's race. 

Consensus among the team is that the pancakes were very tasty and yummy and delicious –thank you Beach Crew Alumni! The Bruins now shift the focus to the San Diego Fall Classic next Sunday November 10, where similar boats will be entered. 






Lineups
                    "A"                                               "B"                                          "C"
Cox:             Maria Martins                           Avery Dunn                           Julia Dervieux
Stroke:         Max Ryan                                 Toby Gajar                            Zee Lake
7:                 Nick Ryan                                  Jack Patzer                          Jackson Foster
6:                 Ian Kenneally                            Arun Sinha                            Dylan Casson
5:                 Gage Saari                                Jagger Winkler                     Jack Miller
4:                 Wyatt Deverell                          Dante Ray                             Joseph Herro
3:                 Zach Cowger                            Dillon Murphy                       Ronen Rabinowitz
2:                 Pierce Rands                            Cullen Cox                            Jacob Faulkner
Bow:            Matthew Atwell                       Andrew Josephbek                  Christopher Root