WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - California men's crew concluded a successful 2016 season at the 114th annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships held on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Cal started the day off with a resounding victory in the varsity eight, winning the team's 17th Varsity Challenge Cup in team history. A silver medal in the freshmen eight, bronze medals in the varsity four and second varsity eight, and a fifth place finish in the third varsity eight combined with the varsity title, brought the Ten Eyck trophy back to Berkeley for the second time in program history.
"It was obviously a great day for the Cal rowing family," said Head Coach Mike Teti. "Today the most important member of that family was our boatman of the past 35 years Mike Fennelly who spent most of his life dedicated to Cal Crew. His initials were embedded on the jerseys of all of our athletes. This regatta was dedicated to him because there's no doubt that he cares more about our program than the rest of us combined. We love him and we already miss him. I'm so happy for Mike and I'm so proud of our team. I'm so grateful for my coaching staff of: Scott Frandsen, Patrick Schulkers, Tom O'Connell, Jay Peart, Jovan Jovanovic, and Cole Reiser. I feel blessed to have such a group of quality people to work with on a daily basis."
The morning started with the most anticipated race of the Championships. The varsity eight held a commanding lead throughout the race to secure the national championship over Yale, 5:38.710 to 5:40.700. The Bears' top boat saw dominant regular season wins versus Washington and Stanford and the lineup of Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, Martin Mackovic, Maarten Hurkmans, Joachim Sutton, Niki VanSprang, Ferdi Querfeld, Morgan Hellen, Alex Wallis and coxswain Julian Venonsky secured the Pac-12 Championship for the Bears, beating Washington to claim the team title over the Huskies. The Bears capped off a historical season capturing the IRA national title for the 17th time in program history, last accomplished in 2010.
"On any given day we thought any of the crews in the final could win," added Teti. "We were also very conscious of the fact that the past two years we won our heat and semi but fell short in the final. The guys saved their best race for when it mattered the most."
Teti also gives credit to his nine graduating seniors for their contributions to bringing home the team title for the second time in program history, last accomplished in during the 2006 season. "Our Seniors set the tone all year both in the classroom and on the water! They have been great role models for our squad and I believe they are responsible for this result. I love Julian, Erin, Niki, Morgan, Jordan, Dylan, Channing, Gordy, and Trevor! A special shout out to Ryan Cobb and Jenny Simon-O'Neill for their support. I also want to thank Diedre Mcloughlin, Gia Fruchone and Tony Chiurco for keeping our team healthy."
He added, "I'm so proud of how all of our boats performed enabling us to win the team championship for the second time in history!"
Overall Team Points Standings:
1. California 205
2. Princeton 202
3. Harvard 193
4. Washington 189
5. Yale 163
Official Results:
Varsity Eight Grand Final:
1. California 5:38.710
2. Yale 5:40.700
3. Princeton 5:41.880
4. Washington 5:44.460
5. Harvard 5:51.870
6. Brown 5:55.770
Cal Lineup: Cox Julian Venonsky, Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk, Martin Mackovic, Maarten Hurkmans, Joachim Sutton, Niki VanSprang, Ferdi Querfeld, Morgan Hellen, Alex Wallis
Second Varsity Eight Grand Final:
1. Harvard 5:51.040
2. Princeton 5:52.890
3. California 5:54.370
4. Washington 5:55.830
5. Wisconsin 5:56.910
6. BU 6:00.190
Cal Lineup: Cox Erin Alexander, Mark Brinker, Marcin Pawlowski, Justin Murphy, Sam Horsley, Jordan Vanderstoep, Dylan Raphael, Elliot Rogers, Kyle Flagg
Third Varsity Eight Grand Final:
1. Princeton 5:54.920
2. Harvard 5:56.680
3. Washington 5:57.120
4. Brown 6:03.710
5. California 6:06.930
6. BU 6:10.250
Cal Lineup: Cox Jack Conlin, Channing Walker, James Riley, Henry Dickinson, Louis Hugh-Jones, Bennett Stahl, Gordy Box, Max Hall, Chris Duval
Freshmen Eight Grand Final:
1. Washington 5:50.350
2. California 5:51.410
3. Navy 6:08.810
4. Wisconsin 6:14.560
5. Drexel 6:21.150
6. Temple 6:24.100
Cal Lineup: Cox John Amorosana, Jack Gosden-Kaye, Danny Jordan, Hunter Hodges, Leon Ramm, Matt Nestler, Alex Lilichenko, Cameron Chater, Harrison Grant
Varsity Four Grand Final:
1. Washington 6:35.490
2. Princeton 6:38.030
3. California 6:40.040
4. Holy Cross 6:47.880
5. Wisconsin 6:54.050
6. MIT 6:55.670
Cal Lineup: Cox Collin FitzPatrick, Jack Cleary, Stan Mulot, Jackson Donald, Trevor Russell
