After starting the season off strong with a come-from-behind victory over crosstown rival No. 20 UCLA, USC rowing entered the bulk of regular-season play looking to build on its momentum and improve upon its preseason No. 23 ranking.

Over the past two weeks, the Trojans saw middling degrees of success toward those goals at two invitationals: the San Diego Crew Classic from March 28-29 and Rocky Top Invite from April 3-4.

In San Diego, USC suffered a heartbreaking last-second loss to the Bruins, who avenged their previous defeat in the rivals’ dual meet. Despite winning the prelims with a 7:43.93 time, the Trojans’ third varsity eight placed second in the final, with UCLA overtaking them by just 1.93 seconds.

Later that day, the second varsity four placed sixth in the Collegiate Varsity B 4+ final, finishing with a time of 8:16.95. First-place Washington finished more than 30 seconds ahead of the Trojans, while both Bruin squads outpaced USC as well.​​ 

The following weekend, the Trojans left California for the first time this season as they tried to regain their momentum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Across two days of competition, USC’s top crews showed consistency in the preliminary round but struggled to reach the finals in most events. 

The Trojans sent their top three boats to the invite, bringing together the first varsity four, first varsity eight and second varsity eight in action. Led by sophomore coxswain Roxy Andras, the second varsity eight emerged as USC’s top performer, delivering consistent results across the preliminary rounds and being the only team of the three to reach the final.

The second varsity eight placed third in the first round to reach the semifinals, where it needed to hold off a fierce Clemson squad; the race was neck and neck before the Trojans pulled away in the last 1,000 meters to earn their place in the final.

In the championship race, USC finished fourth with a time of 6:51.86, falling 10.42 seconds behind No. 4 Tennessee. 

Despite falling short of the podium, the second varsity eight gave the Trojans their best performance of the weekend, as USC’s other two boats finished last in each of their first two races. However, the first varsity four managed to take first in the consolation finals, finishing four seconds ahead of second-place Iowa.

The Trojans will look to build on their performances as they take on the Big Ten Invite in Sacramento from April 18-19.