Al Acosta

Cal women’s crew consistently finished behind UT Austin yet ahead of UW in all four of its races at the San Diego Crew Classic.

The women’s team is set to begin its crew spring season at the San Diego Crew Classic this weekend.

While Cal could not clinch the title, both teams still earned podium finishes: The men came in second while the women finished third overall.

Cal men’s and women’s rowing are officially entering the championship stretch as they head to Sacramento this weekend to race at the Pac-12 championships.

Cal women’s rowing kicked off its season in victorious fashion last weekend, winning five of six races over two days of competition. Meanwhile, Cal men’s rowing is set for its season opener this weekend against UC San Diego.

Cal is behind in training by its own standards — the blue and gold are just two and a half months into their training due to pandemic-induced restrictions. The Bears were not able to congregate as a full team until recently.

Although COVID-19 derailed traditional recruitment, the women’s rowing team has bolstered its roster through the addition of five recruits, including one from England.

Out of the six races at Redwood Shores, only Cal’s undefeated varsity eight boat and novice eight boat were able to outperform Stanford, with Stanford taking the third varsity eight, second varsity four, varsity four and second varsity eight.

A former member of the Cal women’s crew team filed a lawsuit Friday against the UC Board of Regents and her former coach alleging that his improper credentials led to her back injury in 2014.