Corvallis Gazette-Times

SEATTLE - The Oregon State men's crew raced three strong races against impressive competition as part of the Opening Day Regatta on Saturday morning, with the Beavers' 16th-ranked Varsity 8+ crew knocking off the Brazilian national team while finishing second behind No. 2 Washington.

The Huskies were able to take a small lead in the first 500 meters. As the race went on, the Huskies expanded their lead while the Beavers pushed past the Brazilians just after the 1,000-meter mark to take hold of second place. That order held over the second half of the race as the Beavers finished 7.6 seconds ahead of Brazil.

"I think the varsity crew can come away from this race knowing it raced pretty well against one of the top boats in the country," coach Steve Todd said. "It is exciting to be coming down the final stretch of the season. We need to keep focusing on get faster for the Pac-10 Championships in two weeks and the IRAs after that."

OSU's Freshman 8+ was matched up against Washington and Oregon. The Huskies quickly took control, while OSU used the first 500 meters to establish a strong lead over the Ducks that it would expand on over the course of the race.

Both the Junior Varsity 4+ and Freshman 4+ took part in the Varsity 4+ race against three crews from Washington. The Huskies' A and B crews quickly took the top two spots in the race and battled for first. As the race developed, the Beavers JV8+ and the Washington C crew battled for third, which OSU captured by 6.2 seconds at the finish line.

OSU will now turn its attention to the Pac-10 Championships, which begin May 17.

Results

Varsity 8+: Washington 5:39.5, Oregon State 5:52.1, Brazil 5:59.7

Freshman 8+: Washington 5:37.2, Oregon State 6:04.0, Oregon 6:41.8

Varsity 4+: Washington A 6:19.9, Washington B 6:21.0, Oregon State JV 6:42.8, Washington C 6:49.0, Oregon State F 6:57.6