UW Fourth In IRA Varsity Eight Grand Final

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Washington men's varsity eight crew finished fourth in the grand final at the 2022 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship regatta Sunday at Mercer Lake. The Huskies also finished fourth in the second varsity eight final, third in the third varsity eight and third in the overall point standings.
 
Washington finished better than its seedings in all four eights finals, as well as the varsity four event, which was completed on Saturday, and finished third overall the James Ten Eyck overall points trophy. The Huskies were the only program to place a crew in the four heavyweight grand finals.
 
"I'm pleased we finished third in the Ten Eyck," UW head coach Michael Callahan said. "That shows our depth. It was a strong showing in terms of the persistence and resilience this group has been showing all year, to keep improving until the last day.
 
"Placing better than all of your seedings is important," Callahan continued, "and I think it showed that we continued to improve."
 
The UW varsity eight, seeded No. 5 overall, got a good start in its grand final, the last race of the regatta, moving to the front of the pack alongside California, with Yale a close third. However, by 500 meters, Yale have moved into second position.
 
Through the middle portion of the race, the Golden Bears extended their lead, with Yale a clear second. Washington found itself in a battle with Brown for third place, and those two traded positions.
 
At the end, the Bears won the national championship, crossing the finish line in 5:44.239, more than two seconds ahead of Yale (5:46.339). Brown (5:49.133) beat the Huskies (5:52.365) to the bronze medal spot, with Syracuse and Harvard coming in fifth and sixth.
 
Washington's day began with the third varsity eight grand final. At the start, Yale went to the front, but the Huskies were very close behind, passing the 500-meter mark less than four-tenths of a second back. 
 
Shortly thereafter, Washington went to the lead, and held it at both 1,000 and 1,500 meters. However, the Bulldogs responded in the final 500 and, along with Harvard, moved in front of the UW crew.
 
Yale finished with a time of 5:54.771, about three second ahead of the Crimson (5:57.717), with the Huskies third in 6:03.539.
 
In the second varsity eight grand final, Yale also took the early lead, with Brown and Cal closest behind at the 500-meter mark. At 1,000 meters, Dartmouth had pushed out front, but the Green gave way to the Bulldogs before 1,500 meters. 
 
In the meantime, the Husky eight had fallen to sixth at the halfway point, but moved past Brown and Princeton into fourth position by 1,500 meters. In the spring, Yale held off Cal for the win, while Washington nearly caught Dartmouth for third, but finished just under a second behind, in fourth.
 
Yale's winning time was 5:51.958, ahead of second-place Cal. (5:54.052). Dartmouth's time was 5:57.286, with Washington crossing the line in 5:58.264.
 
Yale won the James Ten Eyck Trophy for overall points among men's heavyweight crews for the first time in program history, breaking a streak of 15 straight seasons that either UW (13) or Cal (2) had won the Ten Eyck, which was first awarded in 1952 and has been determined based on a variety of scoring methods over the years.
 
The Bulldogs compiled 283 points. Cal was second with 272, while Washington finished third, with 255 points.
 
In men's collegiate rowing, however, the winner of the varsity eight grand final is considered the "national champion."
 
Next, the UW will send multiple men's and women's crews to the 2022 Henley Royal Regatta in England later this month.
 
"I'm looking forward to the next few weeks," Callahan said, regarding the preparations for Henley. "I think there's still speed to be gained. I don't think we're at our peak, so it's another three weeks to keep improving."
 
 
Washington's IRA Lineups
 
Varsity Eight
Cox: Zach Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Steve Rosts (Jordan, Ont., Canada)
7: Mattijs Holler (Vienna, Austria)
6: Gert-Jan van Doorn (Leiden, The Netherlands)
5: Simon van Dorp  (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
4: Jack Walkey (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
3: Logan Ullrich (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Blake Bradshaw (Auckland, New Zealand)
Bow: Darcy McCluskey (Brisbane, Australia)
 
Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Adam Gold (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Academy)
Stroke: Robert Pluijmert (Dieren, The Netherlands)
7: Sebastian Ritter (Regensburg, Germany)
6: Adam Krol (Toronto, Ont., Canada)
5: Pablo Matan (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep)
4: Nils Vorberg (Hamburg, Germany)
3: Max Heid (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
2: Max Mason (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
Bow: Giulio Acernese (Rome, Italy)
 
Third Varsity Eight
Cox: Max Schwartzkopff (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Stroke: Gus Altucher (Portland, Ore./Cleveland)
7: Ethan Blight (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Chase Barrows (Snohomish, Wash./Archbishop Murphy)
5: Jack Premzic (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior)
4: Marius Ahlsand (Oslo, Norway)
3: Harry Fitzpatrick (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Quinn Hall (Chester Springs, Pa./Malvern Prep)
Bow: Colin Kwiecinski (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
 
Varsity Four
Stroke: Blake Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic)
3: Abe Eligator (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck)
2: Parker Raines (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
Bow: Luke Henry (Bellevue, Wash./Singapore American) 
Cox: Thomas Wenk (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier)
 
Spares
Archie Drummond (Twickenham, London, U.K.)
Michael Thiers (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
 
Washington's IRA National Championship History
 
Varsity Challenge Cups (MV8+) – 19
1923, 1924, 1926, 1936, 1937,
1940, 1941, 1948, 1950, 1970,
1997, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2021
 
Kennedy Challenge Cups (M2V8+) – 30
1925, 1926, 1927, 1935, 1936,
1937, 1938, 1940, 1948, 1949,
1950, 1953, 1956, 1964, 1972,
1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021
 
Stewards Cups
(Awarded to MF8+ 1900-2016; M3V8+ 2017-) – 29
1931, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937,
1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950,
1951, 1953, 1961, 1969, 1997,
2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,
2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
 
Eric W. Will Trophies (MV4+) – 13
2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,
2017, 2019, 2021
 
Third Varsity Eight (M3V8+) – 1
2015
 
Freshman Four (MF4+) – 1
2008
 
Ten Eyck Trophies (Men's Points Champion) – 17
1953, 1959, 1964, 1970, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
2019, 2021