Oakland Stroke Girls Varsity 8+ (foreground) battle Marin down the stretch. Marin finished .1 seconds ahead in a race nearly too close to call. Photo Laura Cvitanovic

The west coast's best junior crew teams competed on the Oakland estuary in two early season regattas at the Faultline Face Off hosted by the Oakland Strokes on March 2-3. Northern California teams just edged out southern California team wins, 12-11.
The closest race of the weekend was between the Oakland Strokes Varsity girls 8+ and Marin. As the boats neared the finish line the lead changed hands with every stroke, but in the end, Marin eked past the Strokes by one-tenth of a second.
When asked about the level of competition, varsity boys' head coach Jason Hilton was excited about the event. "The races went exceptionally well. The region is looking extremely fast this season," he said.
Oakland Strokes Girls Lightweight 8+ beat Los Gatos by over five seconds to claim one of the Strokes three final's wins.
On March 10, the Strokes hosted the Battle of the Bay regatta.
Marin took 16 races to Oakland's 7. Oakland's wins came predominantly in Novice and Freshman boats.

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