GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Cal men's rowing team put itself in position to win multiple national titles Saturday after all four of its boats qualified for the grand finals at the 2019 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Lake Natoma.

The Bears won the A/B semifinals in the second varsity eight and varsity four while placing second in the varsity eight and third in the third varsity eight. The top three finishers in each semifinal advanced to Sunday's finals.

Cal's second varsity eight has been especially dominant so far during the weekend, registering the best time during Friday's qualifying races and Saturday's semis. The boat beat second-place Washington by nearly a full length Saturday.

The Bears' varsity four also had the fastest qualifying time Friday and the second-best Saturday in holding off a nice run by the Princeton boat. Cal, Washington and Princeton are the only schools to have boats in all four grand finals Sunday.

The varsity eight stayed on Yale's heels throughout Saturday's semifinal but could never overtake the Bulldogs, still settling for a solid runner-up finish to advance. After leading its semifinal early, the third varsity eight fell into third place and had to fight off a surprising Boston boat to move on.

Cal will enter Sunday looking to win the Varsity Challenge Cup (varsity eight grand final) and Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy (overall team title) for the third time in school history. The Bears won both in 2016 and have finished in the top 5 in each of the past two seasons.



Saturday's Results
*Advanced to grand finals

Varsity 8+ A/B Semifinal

1. Yale*                  5:33.044
2. Cal*                   5:34.897
3. Northeastern*    5:36.104
4. Brown                5:40.622
5. Cornell               5:46.720
6. Stanford             5:49.430

Second Varsity 8+ A/B Semifinal

1. Cal*                      5:37.310
2. Washington*         5:39.344
3. Princeton*            5:46.935
4. Dartmouth            5:53.344
5. Syracuse              5:53.659
6. Cornell                  6:08.305

Third Varsity 8+  A/B Semifinal

1. Washington*         5:45.683
2. Princeton*             5:47.392
3. Cal*                       5:48.285
4. Boston                  5:48.772
5. Navy                     5:57.707
6. Dartmouth            6:03.242

Varsity 4+ A/B Semifinal

1. Cal*                      6:29.791
2. MIT*                      6:33.091
3. Navy*                    6:36.334
4. Dartmouth          6:39.564
5. Brown                  6:49.854

 

Sunday's Schedule (All times PT)
9:14 a.m. – Varsity 4+ Grand Final
10:08 a.m. – Third V8+ Grand Final
10:24 a.m. – Second V8+ Grand Final
11:12 a.m. – Varsity 8+ Grand Final