The San Diego Crew Classic® is thrilled to announce the full fields of participants in its marquee collegiate 1V races for 2023. The Jessop-Whittier Cup (Women’s 1V) and Copley Cup (Men’s 1V) are the foundation on which the regatta was established 50 years ago, as a way to bring together the East and West coast titans of collegiate rowing.
Having evolved through five decades of growth and development of the sport, the events have hosted dozens of different programs over the years, though that evolution has meant that none of the original teams from the inaugural 1973 regatta will be appearing in the Jessop-Whittier or Copley Cups in 2023. The Crew Classic will look to welcome a mix of returning crews, including both 2022 winners, in 2023 as well as some teams making their first-ever appearance at the Crew Classic. Jessop-Whittier Cup
The 2023 Jessop-Whittier Cup will feature an unprecedented level of competition and should prove to be the NCAA rowing season premier that rowing fans dream of. The spotlight crew in the field will be defending back-to-back NCAA Champions, Texas, who will look to retain the Jessop-Whittier Cup following their win at the Crew Classic in 2022. The Longhorns’ win in San Diego last March was the starting point for a perfect undefeated season, so all eyes will be on the burnt orange to set the pace early in the regatta.
Strong challenges are sure to come from Stanford, who are back-to-back NCAA runners-up, and whose hopes for an NCAA team title the past two years have come down to a points tie with Texas decided only by the placements of their V8s; as well as fourth-place NCAA finishers, Washington.
Making their Mission Bay debut in 2023 will be the crew from Oxford-Brookes University (Oxford, GBR) whose entry will mark the first time a European crew has competed for the Jessop-Whittier Cup. The remaining four crews include Notre Dame, who will be returning to the Crew Classic for the first time since 2009; Washington State, USC, and Cal who were all consistently ranked in the top 20 during the 2022 season.
Copley Cup
The Men’s Varsity 8+ event is also bound to be a fantastic contest between three top-level university programs. Defending IRA Champions, Cal, will be the sole American competitor in this year’s Copley Cup, and will be looking to get a few good rips down the track against strong crews from Oxford-Brookes and 2022 Copley Cup Champions, A.S.R. Nereus.
Unlike the Jessop-Whittier Cup, which will rely on a traditional 6-lane progression system over two days of racing, the Copley Cup will be run as a series of duals between the three teams on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the winner being decided by a points system for the trophy awards on Sunday afternoon.
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