Bears Dominate Day 2 At IRA Championships

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Cal men's rowing team put on a dominant performance on the second day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships at Mercer Lake. All three eight boats advanced to the Grand Finals and the V4+ won the Petite Final.

"Today we saw some really, really strong races from the top-two boats," said head coach Scott Frandsen. "We did exactly what we needed to do. And set up some exciting finals and great opportunities for these guys tomorrow. I'm proud of how they executed their races today and tomorrow is going to be that next big challenge."

The day's racing got underway with the V8+ in the A/B semifinal. Racing head-to-head against rival Washington, the Bears once again finished ahead of the Huskies. Cal took the early lead and built on it throughout the race, eventually finishing with a boat-length lead. The Bears finished with a time of 5:33.311 – the fastest time of the two semifinal heats.

The V8+ will compete for a national championship in tomorrow's Grand Final against Yale, Harvard, Washington, Syracuse, and Brown. That race is slated to begin at 7:50 a.m. PT.

The 2V8+ put on a similarly dominant display. The Bears jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it. At the 1,000-meter mark, they added two more seats on second-place Princeton. At the finish Cal crossed the finish line ahead of runner-up Brown, finishing with a time of 5:44.018.

Sunday's 2V8+ Grand Final will feature the Bears, Brown, Princeton, Yale, Washington, and Dartmouth. That race is slated to begin at 7:00 a.m. PT.

In the 3V8+ race, the Bears battled in the fastest heat. The early leaders of Yale, Washington, and Cal left the rest of the heat from the beginning. The Bulldogs took the heat, but the Bears were able to hold onto their third-place finish to advance to tomorrow's Grand Final. Cal clocked in with a time of 5:53.316.

The 3V8+ Grand Final will feature the Bears, Yale, Washington, Harvard, Brown, and Dartmouth and is scheduled to begin at 6:30 a.m. PT.  

"We are one of the few programs that have all three eights in the final," said Frandsen. "It shows really great depth and I'm excited to see all three crews have their best race tomorrow morning."

In the Petite Finals for the V4+ Cal opened the race conservatively, hanging back behind the leaders. At the 500-meter mark, the top-four boats, which included the Bears, were almost neck and neck. At the halfway point Cal started to increase its rate and moved up into third and challenged for second. The final 500-meters belonged to the Bears who edged out runner-up La Salle, finishing with a time of 6:27.119.

"I thought they represented themselves really well," added Frandsen. "Obviously they are disappointed not to be in the Grand Final, but overall I think they raced really well, and winning that final is an achievement that they will be proud of."

Saturday's Results
V8+ Results
1. California - 5:33.311
2. Washington - 5:35.977
3. Harvard - 5:40.365
4. Northeastern - 5:44.577
5. Princeton - 5:44.837
6. Naval Academy - 5:55.713
 
JV8+ Results
1. California - 5:44.018
2. Brown - 5:45.504
3. Princeton - 5:47.446 4.
BU - 5:48.284
5. Harvard - 5:50.872
6. Wisconsin - 6:03.284
 
3V8+ Results
1. Yale - 5:46.462
2. Washington - 5:49.300
3. California - 5:53.316
4. Princeton - 5:55.600
5. Naval Academy - 5:58.374
6. Penn - 6:13.900
 
V4+ Results
1. California - 6:27.119
2. La Salle - 6:29.059
3. Northeastern - 6:629.789
4. Brown - 6:32.725
5. Holy Cross - 6:33.035
6. Jacksonville - 6:37.381
 
Saturday'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
Balthasar Issa
Daton Wolfaardt
Michael Chandler
Wilson Morton (bow)
 
3V8+
Illiad Izadi (cox)
Tyler Kurth (stroke)
Farley Dimond-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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