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Vikes prevail in annual Brown Cup battle

University of Victoria rowing team takes all four races from UBC on Fraser River course
rowing
The UVic Men's Reserve (Junior Varsity) team celebrates a victory at the finish line at the Brown Cup boat race on Saturday. The 3,650-metre rowing competition between UBC and UVic was from Mitchell Island to the UBC Boathouse in Richmond.

The University of Victoria Vikes rowing teams made a big splash on the Fraser River in Richmond on Saturday.

The Vikes swept all four races from the UBC Thunderbirds in the 27th annual Brown Cup battle for West Coast supremacy on a 3,650 metre course that began near the western tip of Mitchell Island and concluded alongside the John M.S. Lecky Boathouse.

“It's a privilege to go in as two of the top programs in Canada and row against each other," said Vikes men's head coach Aalbert Van Schothorst. “This is a phenomenal event where we can test ourselves head-to-head and we knew UBC wouldn't give an inch."

The Thunderbirds had enjoyed success against UVic for much of the season but the roles were reversed this time on a day that brought a mix of overcast skies and at times heavy rains. 

The Vikes enjoyed the first of four straight victories with the women's reserves junior varsity team leading wire to wire and winning by a couple of boat lengths to open the day's competition.

 Up next it was the men's reserves junior varsity race that saw an early clash of oars between the two boats and an eventual come-from-behind win by just half a boat length for the Vikes.

The women's varsity eight race saw Vikes open an early lead and cruise to their sixth Brown Cup title in the last eight years. 

That victory meant the Victoria eight had pulled off the treble on the season, after earlier wins at the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships and the Canadian University Rowing Championships.

Finally, it was the men's varsity race that saw the healthy rivalry between the school's renewed with an aggressive competition throughout on the water. 

With the Vikes leading by a seat's length near the halfway point of the race, the boats collided and it was the Vikes who came out on the wrong end of the contact.

The race was forced to halt and a lengthy delay was caused after the Vikes boat was damaged. When the race was re-started  Victoria was granted a seat length lead. 

After a back and forth race, it was the Vikes that pulled away for a boat length win and the Brown Cup title.

“It was an elegant race, they rowed with a composure that comes from confidence," added Van Schothorst. "When UBC brought a charge, they just kept rowing with a composure that withstood every onslaught.”