New Cal Coach Not New to Cal, Or HOCR

By Marisa Goolgasian – Posted on October 19, 2018

            Scott Frandsen is more than ready for his first season as head coach of the University of California men’screw.

            “It’s definitely been exciting,” Frandsen said of his initial months at the helm of the program. “The energy in the group has been really good. We’ve been training hard and I’m excited to see where we’re at this year.”

            A three-time Olympian, five-time World Champion and three-time IRA Champion, Frandsen began at Cal as a freshman oarsman in 1999. After a long and decorated stint on the Canadian national team, Frandsen returned to Cal as an assistant coach in 2012, and was named to succeedMike Teti as head coach last June.

            The54th Head of the Charles Regatta will be his inaugural race as head coach, and he can’t think of a better place to start.

            “It’s always been a focal point of the fall season,” he said. “We’re always looking towards the spring, but [the Head of the Charles is] a great check-in point for where the squad is at this point in the year.”

            His Cal Bears come looking to defend their championship in the eight, and looking to improve on last year’s second-place finish in the championship fours. Frandsen is hesitant to make predictions, but optimistic nonetheless.

            “It’s a strong group for sure. I’m excited to see what they can do,” he said. “The quick turnover in college sports always makes the first race somewhat unpredictable, but I would say we’re sending fairly experienced boats.”

            US Rowing, now coached by former Cal coach Mike Teti, figures to present the biggest obstacle to a Cal defense, but Frandsen and his staff have their eyes on a few other college squads as well.

            “We’re definitely watching Yale, given their performance last year. Harvard’s definitely a contender; it’s their home course and they preform well there. Northeastern has been doing very well recently too.”

            This will be Frandsen’s eighth time at the Head of the Charles; he has competed in the Regatta once as an athlete and seven times as a coach. A lot of rowing fans, and Cal fans, will be curious to see how Frandsen fares against his old boss and mentor, Teti. Frandsen, however, isn’t thinking about that at all.

            “I definitely haven’t felt any element of ‘me vs. him’ he said. “We’re just looking forward to this weekend.”

            Apart from the strong competition, Frandsen’sonly concern is Boston’s erratic weather.

            “I really hope the weather cooperates. I’m definitely worried about the conditions,” Frandsen said. “We’ve been checking them every day and it seems like it’s going to be a little more windy than we’d like. That’s one of the elements of the Charles, though. Hopefully the conditions will be reasonable.”