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Strong Opening Day At IRA Championships

Jun 3, 2022
A little rain could not stop the Bears on Friday at the IRA Championships.

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Cal men's rowing team had a successful first day of racing with all three eights advancing to the semi-finals at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships held at Mercer Lake, NJ.

Though rain was not in the forecast, Cal's top two boats were unaffected by the early morning downpour to win their heats comfortably. Overall, a strong showing on Friday will lead to a busy Saturday for the Bears who will have all three eights in the A/B semifinal and the v4+ will race in the petite final.

"I'm pleased with how our crews performed today," said head coach Scott Frandsen. "We avoided any setbacks and progressed through to the semi-finals without a lot of stress on the athletes. The semi-finals tomorrow will be much more of a test and our crews will need to be at their best to make sure we advance to the finals on Sunday."

After a lane change before the race began, the V8+ made quick work of their heat. Cal jumped out to an early lead with runner-up Syracuse neck and neck through the first 250 meters. Cal had a six-seat lead by the 500-meter mark and added to their lead until there was open water between themselves and the Orange by the 1,000-meter mark. The Bears cruised to a three-second win over Syracuse to win the heat with a time of 5:43.093.

The 2V8+ race was similar to the V8+. Cal and Syracuse both jumped out to the early lead, the Bears owned a 1-second lead over the Orange at the 1,000-meter mark and slowly built on their lead. Cal finished with a three-second cushion to take the heat and advance to the A/B semifinals with a time of 5:47.627.

In the 3V8+, Cal was locked in a close race with Brown, eventually crossing the line in second place with a time of 5:54.541, comfortably ahead of BU who finished over two seconds behind the Golden Bears. Cal was one of six teams to have all three of its eights automatically advance to the A/B semifinals.

The V4+ began the day with a strong showing in the time trial, finishing with the eighth fastest time of 6:15.124. The top 18 teams advanced to the A/B/C semifinals later on in the afternoon. The Bears V4+ raced in the second heat and started out strong. Racing side-by-side with Harvard, the Bears took the early lead and held it for most of the race. Over the last 500-meters, heat winner FIT caught both the Bears and Harvard to take first. Cal finished fourth with a time of 6:24.985 and will row in the Petite final tomorrow morning.

The Bears will return to action at 5:40 a.m. PT when the V8+ look to advance to the Grand Final. The 2V8+ will race at 6:00 a.m. PT and the 3V8+ will race at 6:20 a.m. The V4+ Petite final is scheduled to begin at 8:20 a.m.

Friday's Results
V8+ Results

1. California - 5:43.093
2. Syracuse - 5:46.853
3. Northeastern - 5:51.285
4. Drexel - 5:55.567
5. Penn - 6:01.381
6. Santa Clara - 6:13.001
 
2V8+ Results
1. California - 5:47.627
2. Syracuse - 5:50.411
3. Drexel - 5:53.185
4. BU - 5:54.161
5. Oregon State - 6:21.601
 
3V8+ Results
1. Brown - 5:51.487
2. California - 5:54.541
3. BU - 5:56.795
4. Cornell - 6:00.795
5. Temple - 6:03.124
6. Oregon State - 6:19.129
 
4V+ Results
1. FIT - 6:21.415
2. Harvard - 6:22.235
3. La Salle - 6:23.975
4. California - 6:24.985
5. Hobart - 6:32.775
6. Wisconsin - 6:42.811
 
Friday's Lineups
Varsity 8+
Luca Vieira (cox)
Iwan Hadfield (stroke)
Elliott Kemp 
Tim Roth
Ollie Maclean
Gennaro di Mauro
Angus Dawson
Frederik Breuer
Campbell Crouch (bow)
 
JV8+
James French (cox)
Tommy Barrell (stroke)
Fred Roper 
Olav Molenaar
Christoph Seifriedsberger
Balthasaar Issa
Daton Wolfaardt
Michael Chandler
Wilson Morton (bow)
 
3V8+
Iliad Izadi (cox)
Tyler Kurth (stroke)
Farley Dimon-Brown
Spencer Dettlinger
Adam Stephenson
Jamie Arnold
Alex Langstone-Bolt
Harry Cox
Josh Anderson (bow)
 
V4+
Ryan Prendergast (cox)
Evan Lane (stroke)
Bret Holt 
Matthew Gallagher
Marcus Cameron
 
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