Newport crew seeks cup

Three members of the Newport Aquatic Center Junior Crew and one member from the Orange Coast College rowing team have joined forces to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta.

The regatta, which takes place on the Thames River, is one of the oldest in the world, established in 1839, long before national or international rowing federations existed. It has been held annually since then, except during the two World Wars.

Matthew White, a rising senior at Newport Harbor High, will occupy the bow seat on the four-man shell. J.P. Hogan, a junior at Newport Harbor, will be in the two seat, and UCLA freshman Dane Oatman will have the three seat. Will Prioleau, a sophomore at Orange Coast College, will be in the stroke seat.

The team left California on Sunday and began training on Monday. They’re currently training to qualify for the Fawley Challenge Cup for Junior Quadruple Sculls. The qualifying race, which is Friday, consists of a time trial, where crews race the full Henley course one at a time, starting every 15 seconds.

The fastest nine crews qualify for the Fawley Challenge Cup, a dual race, with two crews competing at a time. The winner of a race advances to the next round, and the loser goes home. Fifty-three teams are competing for 24 spots in the final race, which starts July 5. Some teams, such as last year’s winners from Australia, automatically qualify.

After the qualifying race, the NAC team will compete in the Reading Town Regatta Saturday, 10 miles south of Henley, as a tune-up.

“It’s a very old, prestigious regatta that gets crews from all over the world,” said Paul Prioleau, who organized the trip and assists head coach Nick D’Antoni. “This is the first time anybody’s [from NAC] thought about sending a crew to Henley.”

Prioleau said the team’s chances of qualifying were a “big unknown.” The team has trained in Newport Harbor since the end of the rowing season with an Empacher racing shell loaned to them by NAC member John Curci. They’re renting a newer model of the Empacher to race while they’re in England.

“These guys are all pretty good rowers, but it’s a bit of a learning curve,” Prioleau said. “Hopefully they can relay their experiences back to the kids on the crew next year. It will give the kids next year a goal to strive for.”

White, Hogan, Oatman, and Prioleau will be rowing against teams from 18 countries including Australia, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.