Beavers Battle on Day One at IRA Championships, Advance to Finals

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - The No. 16 Oregon State men's rowing team turned in a solid performance on Day 1 of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships on Friday. 
 
"Four months ago, it wasn't positive that this national championship was going to happen," said head coach Gabe Winkler. "But we made it and then Mother Nature threw in some challenging conditions."
 
The day began with time trials for all three crews before each boat competed in a semifinal based on their first race finish.
 
"The time trial was everything," continued Winkler, "but the wind was building through the morning."
 
The varsity boat raced with a time of 5:39.193 to finish one spot ahead of their rank in the morning's time trials. Grabbing the 15th seed, the V8 crew raced for a second time in Semifinal C. Coxed by Ethan deBorja, the varsity boat will close out the weekend in the Third Levels finals where they will race for 13-18-place finishes. 
 
"The varsity and 3V did well [in their time trial]. The varsity looks forward to a final, the C final, in which they have the fastest qualifying time."
 
The junior varsity squad finished 19th, with a time of 6:13.042, to continue its day in Semifinal D. Coxed by Drew Riviello, the crew went on to finish first in their semifinal to advance to the Fourth Level finals on Saturday.
 
"JV earned the toughest position, finishing 19th in their time trial. It was fun to watch them bounce back and win their semi in an impressive come-from-behind fashion."
 
Finally, the third varsity crew followed the first varsity's example and finished one spot ahead of their original seeding in the time trial. Advancing to Semifinal B with a time of 6:29.410 in the time trial, the 3V8 boat finished fourth in their semi. The third boat will close out the IRA Championships in the Petite finals at 8:40 a.m. ET. 
 
"The 3V is looking at places 7-12 tomorrow in the B final."
 
"I am really happy with what the team did today," concluded Winkler. "This has been an extremely hard year and to have the guys racing like this makes me proud."
 
RESULTS
Time Trials
V8 - 15th - 5:39.193
JV8 - 19th - 6:13.042
3V8 - 11th - 6:29.410
 
Semifinals
V8 - C - 5th - 6:40.231
JV8 - D - 1st - 6:50.914
3V8 - B - 4th - 6:56.434
 
LINEUPS
V8
Coxswain: Ethan deBorja
Stroke: Brian Tames
7: Jacoby Wilson
6: Tristan Gavin
5: Cal Labonski
4: Andrew Balsbaugh
3: Colin Lindquist
2: Nils Patrick
Bow: Ryan Coulter
 
JV8
Coxswain: Drew Riviello
Stroke: Chris Neihoff
7: Ben La Fond
6: Zach Niedermeyer
5: Ryan Ghalayini
4: Tanner Matthews
3: Nathan Purtzer
2: Tristin Vanderlind
Bow: Nick Taylor
 
3V8
Coxswain: Mateo Olmedo
Stroke: William La Fond
7: Samuel Silberstein
6: Isaac Connelly
5: Grant Hemingway
4: Christian Touhey
3: Samuel Foltz
2: Patrick McIntee
Bow: Will Kendall
 
For more information on the Oregon State men's rowing team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverMRowing, on Facebook at Facebook.com/BeaverRowing, or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverMRowing.
 
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