It was a busy weekend for UCSB rowing, as the men and women’s teams competed at the Long Beach Fall Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, with the women hitting the water again at the San Diego Fall Classic on Sunday.

“The team was in good spirits and confident about their races,” men’s Head Coach Desmond Stahl said. “It was the first varsity-level race for most of the second-years, so they perhaps had more nerves going into it.”

The men’s team entered its race with mixed lineups to create three boats of eight rowers that were even in speed. Despite any nerves, UCSB finished first (14:34), second (14:44) and third (14:58) in the Open 8+ division, beating Long Beach State.

“We started out strong and fast [and] we were the first boat on the course. We were a little bit shaky at first [but] we fell into a good rhythm,” senior captain Nate Clark said. “[In] the final 2000 meters, we set a good pace. We were 20 seconds in front of the second boat, which was [UCSB], too.”

The men’s team also entered two boats in the Open 4+, finishing third (16:51) and fourth (16:54), right behind LMU and UCLA’s top rowers.

“The four’s race was a huge statement,” senior coxswain Wendy Chan said. “Both fours really attacked it from the start and had a strong solid race.”

The women’s team entered two varsity boats in the Open 8+, earning first (16:23) and second (17:11) place division against Orange Coast College, Long Beach State and UC Irvine.

“I was pleased on Saturday,” Head Coach Mike Homes said. “Both varsity crews raced well.”

Additionally, the men and women entered boats in the novice division, in which official times were not kept.

“The novices, who only raced Saturday in their first race ever, were really composed and competed very well,” Homes said.

Overall, both the men’s and women’s teams had a successful Saturday. However, the weekend was not yet over for the women’s side, as they raced again in San Diego the day after.

“[It was] extremely difficult. It was really hard for us to [race], especially with all the traveling,” captain Morgan Bachus said. “[Sunday’s] race was about 5000 meters competitively including warm-ups. We were very tired.”

The women’s two boats came in sixth (18:01) and 13th(19:29) in a group of highly competitive teams, including UC San Diego, San Diego State and the University of San Diego.

With this, the women conclude the fall season. The Gauchos will take a two-month break before competing again.

“Fall is more like a scrimmage for us to see how we’re doing,” Bachus said. “We will continue to practice two times a day, six times a week. The winter and spring seasons are more competitive and the rankings matter [more]. We will continue to do what we do.”

On the other hand, the men have one more race before they begin winter training.

“It will be the first time we’re in lineups this season. We’ll be looking to really go into winter quarter on a good note, ideally winning as many races as we can,” Clark said. “It’s been a good season so far. Consistency is going to be what has us do well.”

The women’s team is scheduled to race again in late January. The men’s team will race against USC at the LA Harbor on Nov. 17th.

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of the Daily Nexus.