NOLAN LUMBY / CONTRIBUTOR

The  University of San Diego’s rowing   programs closed  their fall  schedules   this  past  weekend, competing on the familiar waters of Mission Bay in two separate regattas that provided a final look at both the men’s and women’s squads  before winter training is set to begin.

  On  Nov. 9, the  women’s rowing team wrapped up its season at the San Diego Fall Classic, where they entered seven boats in both varsity and novice events — a competition category specifically for rowers who are in their  first  year of rowing or racing. Collegiate rowing programs often feature multiple crews in the same category, differentiated by varsity level or boat class. USD’s results  demonstrated  this  depth.

 The Toreros’ strongest performance came from the Varsity 4+, which finished eighth in a competitive field with a time of 19:07.038 minutes. Varsity 4 decribes the number of rowers in the boat plus the coxswain. 

  The Varsity 8+ placed 10th, clocking in at 16:49.999 minutes.  Meanwhile, the Second Varsity 8+ and  Third Varsity  8+  finished  in the middle   of  their   respective  heats, recording times of 17:23.621   minutes and  18:13.331  minutes,    respectively.

  USD   also  competed   in   several novice  races, highlighted by the Novice 8+, which achieved a time of 21:57.268 minutes in its first competitive outing.

 USD Women’s Head Coach Katie Thurstin summarized the final meet.

  “It turned out to be a beautiful day,” Thurstin said. “It was a great opportunity to race against fast teams and get everyone on the water. [We learned a lot] highlighting the improvements seen across the boats, especially among the first-year rowers who were participating in their first race.”

 The men’s rowing team delivered one of its strongest performances  of  the season  at a home  regatta  that  featured both local and regional programs. 

USD won the Open 8+ event for the first time in seven years, narrowly defeating UC San Diego in the primary race. A second Torero boat finished fourth, but was placed seventh after incurring a 60-second penalty for a buoy violation. 

 USD also secured second and fourth places in the Open 4+ category and achieved a clean sweep of the top two spots in both the Frosh/Novice 8+ and Frosh/Novice 4+ events. USD’s next official races will begin in early 2026.