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The No. 1 ranked Cal men’s varsity eight defeated No. 6 Wisconsin by five seconds in dual racing on the Redwood Shores Lagoon, April 21. The undefeated, defending IRA National champion Bears covered the course in a time of 5:40.43.  

“Absolutely solid performances by both our crews today,” said coach Steve Gladstone. “I’m happy with the look of the boats and the speed of the boats.”  

In the varsity event, Cal and Wisconsin both got off to strong starts and the Bears edged out to the slimmest of margins through the 500-meter mark. Cal continued to press the pace, but the Badgers hung tight and were still withing striking distance-only a half length down-as the crews crossed the 1000. Cal’s varsity eight, however, erased all hope for the Badgers with a fast second 1000 going on to win by 5.3 seconds.  

“Wisconsin really went out strong and were right with us at the first 500,” said Cal coxswain Mike Vallarelli. “We stayed in our own boat and executed our race plan. We started to move away in the second 1000 and just kept pushing through the finish.”