Huskies Finish Second At 2023 IRA Championships

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Washington men's rowing team earned a second-place finish in the varsity eight grand final at 2023 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Sunday at Mercer Lake, falling to defending champion California by just 1.244 seconds.
 
The fourth-seeded UW varsity crew beat No. 3-seed Princeton and second-seeded Yale by approximately two and four seconds, respectively, improving on the 2022 season finish, when the Huskies finished fourth.
 
Cal, which finished more than eight seconds ahead of fourth-place Washington last year, returned every member of its varsity shell in 2023.
 
Washington also finished in second place in the second varsity eight, third in the third varsity eight, and finished second to California in the James Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy, which goes to the overall points winner. In men's college rowing, the winner of the IRA varsity eight is considered the "National Champion."
 
The Huskies improved on their margin vs. California over the previous day, when the Bears won a semifinal over Washington by just over 2.2 seconds. The UW eight also cut the gap considerably from last month's Pac-12 Championships, where Cal's varsity shell won by just under four seconds. 
 
"Today, having our best race on our last day is what we shoot for, and I think we did that," said UW head coach Michael Callahan, "especially in the varsity eight. I'm really proud of how they raced."
 
Sunday, the Bears took the lead from the start and led at 500 meters, but with UW, Yale and Princeton all within less than a second, in that order. At 1,000 meters, the Bears increased their edge a bit, and the top four remained in the same order.
 
By 1,500 meters, Princeton had moved into third place, while Washington remained in contact with the Bears.
 
The Huskies rowed the fastest final 500 meters in the field to cut the Bears lead, but Cal held on for the win, by about half a length. The Bears' time was 5:31.716 to the Huskies' 5:32.960. Princeton finished third in 5:34.882 and Yale was fourth, with a time of 5:36.954.
 
"I feel like these guys made a lot of correct decisions along the way this whole year," added Michael Callahan. "Their work ethic, their attitude, the camaraderie with each other ... you'll see a lot of guys are really close across our whole boathouse."
 
"It's pretty special to be a part of this," said varsity coxswain Nick Dunlop. "We have a lot of pride in our program in the guys at the top drawing everyone up to be their best and the guys at the bottom providing upward pressure to lift us all. It's been awesome."
 
Washington got off to a bit of a slow start in the second varsity eight final, crossing the 500-meter buoy in fourth position. By 1,000 meters, Washington had moved past Dartmouth and Brown into third, behind California and Yale.
 
At 1,500 meters, the Huskies still sat in third, but Washington rowed the fastest final quarter of the race, moving past the Bulldogs and cutting into the Bears' lead. Cal won with a time of 5:39.600, just under 2.5 seconds in front of Washington's 5:42.070. Yale was third, just a quarter of a second behind.
 
Washington opened the morning with a third-place finish in the third varsity eight grand final. 
 
The Huskies grabbed the early lead, but the pack was tightly packed and no crew assumed control in the early going. However, by 500 meters, California had moved to the front with Harvard running second.
 
That order held, with the Huskies in third place, as the crews raced down the course. At the finish, Cal held off a late surge from the Crimson and won the race with a time of 5:42.220, less than four-tenths of a second ahead of Harvard (5:42.600) with open water back to UW (5:47.130).
 
Washington finished with 273 points in the final Ten Eyck standings, good for second place behind Cal (288). Yale, Princeton and Harvard rounded out the top-five.

Next up for the Huskies will be a trip to the Henley Royal Regatta, where UW will send a yet-to-be-determined crew or crews to compete in the annual event in Henley-on-Thames, England.
 
 
WASHINGTON LINEUPS
 
Varsity Eight
Shell: ShoeDawg
Cox: Nick Dunlop (Psychology)
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey (Environmental Studies)
7: Jack Walkey (International Security)
6: Logan Ullrich (Food Systems, Nutrition & Health)
5: Povilas Juskevicius (Pre-Major/Informatics)
4: Joel Cullen (Postbaccalaureate Study)
3: Blake Bradshaw (Geography)
2: Cameron Tasker (Political Economy)
Bow: Max Heid (Finance)
 
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Brett "Big Red" Reisinger '98
Cox: Kieran Joyce (Pre-Major/Business)
Stroke: Max Mason (Economics)
7: Robert Pluijmert (Biochemistry)
6: Gus Altucher (Philosophy)
5: Blake Vogel (Real Estate)
4: Pablo Matan (Philosophy; Political Economy)
3: Luke Henry (Real Estate)
2: Marius Ahlsand (Pre-Major/Political Economy)
Bow: Ethan Blight (Food Systems, Nutrition & Health)
 
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Chuck Holtz III
Cox: Zach Casler (MS in Information Management)
Stroke: Michael Thiers (International Security)
7: Harry Fitzpatrick (Pre-Major/Communication)
6: Ben Shortt (Pre-Major/Economics)
5: Adam Krol (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology)
4: Archie Drummond (Global and Regional Studies)
3: Jonathan Wang-Norderud (Pre-Major/Economics)
2: Nils Vorberg (International Studies; Political Economy)
Bow: Giulio Acernese (Political Economy)
 
Varsity Four
Shell: George Yeoman Pocock
Stroke: Max Taylor (Pre-Major/Political Economy)
3: Ethan Walsh (Pre-Major/Biology)
2: Ryan Smith (Pre-Major/Economics)
Bow: Louis Gallia IV (Real Estate)
Cox: Tess Kadian (Journalism)
 
Spares
Alex Gonin (Pre-Major/Biology)
Quinn Hall (Pre-Major/Informatics)
Athena Baches (Physics & Astronomy)
 
WASHINGTON'S ALL-TIME IRA TROPHIES
 
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
(Given 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