July 1, 2005

HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England - After a pair of easy victories in the first two rounds of the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, Cal's freshman eight boat lost a tight race to Trinity College's varsity in the quarterfinal round Friday.

What was expected to be a close race turned out exactly that way, with Trinity edging the Bears by a mere two feet at the finish, crossing the line in 6:30.

Open to crews from universities, the Temple Challenge Cup is a five-day dual competition that will conclude with the final Sunday. Cal opened the races with an easy win over the University of Warwick Wednesday, then defeated the University of Durham by four lengths Thursday.

Trinity, of Hartford, Conn., will face Oxford Brookes in the semifinal round Saturday.