Newport Beach, CA – March 12, 2025– The UCLA Men's Rowing team is set to compete at the 60th Annual Newport Regatta this weekend, bringing determination and a strong and deep contingent to an important early season rowing event. This year's regatta features American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) title contenders and regional rivals UCLA and Orange Coast College (OCC). Last year OCC dominated early-season matchups, while UCLA found success in the late-season showdowns.

The varsity crews enter the regatta following solid early-season performances on a 1400 meter course at the California Challenge Cup. The UCLA V8 defeated OCC in a close finish to claim the Durbrow Cup. Meanwhile, the OCC 2V narrowly bested UCLA's 2V, setting the stage for thrilling rematches on Sunday. Head Coach Marcel embraces these situations and shares, "The varsity boat has been showing a lot of speed in practice and I'm hoping that we have a well executed race plan."

This first full squad event will reflect the robust and growing program from Westwood. This year's regatta promises a Bruin crew in every race and a fresh oar in every seat as no athletes will "double up" and compete twice. UCLA has entered a Varsity Eight (V8), Second Varsity Eight (2V8), Varsity Four (V4), Novice Eight (N8), Second Novice Eight (2N8), and Novice Four (N4). 

UCLA arrives at the North Lido Channel race course with a strong championship pedigree, as the defending champions in multiple events on the familiar course. The Novice Four (N4) will look to defend its title from last year, the Second Varsity Eight (2V8) aims for a third consecutive victory, and the Varsity Four (V4) is on a three-year winning streak. The Bruins also won the V8 event and the Palmer Cup team championship in 2023.

The season opener at the standard 2000 meter distance serves an important part in Coach Stiffey's development of his championship crews. "The Newport Regatta is the team's first real 2K of the season and we've used this regatta as an assessment of things we need to improve on." His success in making these improvements can be seen in last year's results. In 2024 OCC edged out UCLA at the opening California Challenge Cup and beat them two weeks later by open water at the Newport Regatta. However, the Bruin's V8 later finished open water ahead of the Pirates while winning the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championship and placing third at the ACRA National Championships.

OCC also boasts a dominant novice program that has held a firm grip on the Larry M. Moore Cup, awarded to the winning N8 at the Newport Regatta. Last year, the Pirates' N8 also captured the Derek Guelker Cup at the prestigious San Diego Crew Classic and finished runner-up at the ACRA National Championship. The N8 and 2N8 races hold intrigue as UCLA has strengthened its recruiting efforts this year, particularly with campus walk-ons who have shown strong potential to challenge OCC's dominance. Coach Weston Cole shared, "We're really excited for the 2025 novice class to get their season underway at the Newport Regatta.   We have a lot of hope with this group, but you get to see the full picture of who you're working with once you see how they respond to racing."  

The N4 begins racing at 7:20 a.m. on Sunday, with the feature V8 race at 9:10 a.m. Fans and supporters can follow the action from David A. Grant Collegiate Rowing Center at 1801 West Coast Hwy, watch online at The Rowing Channel  or see the schedule and track results at ClockCaster.