WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The No. 4 California men's rowing team showed off its depth at the IRA Championships at Mercer Lake on Friday. All three varsity eights swept their opening day heats to advance to their respective A semifinals, while the varsity four won its semifinal heat to advance to tomorrow's grand final after posting the second-fastest time of the time trials.
 
"I think it was a successful day for all of our crews, and they managed the first day and all the pressures that come with the heats," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "We showed a lot of flexibility and resiliency with some last-minute hurdles and progressed through the weekend like we know we needed to, so I'm excited to get back into the set lineups and see what those guys can do tomorrow."
 
The V8+ kicked things off for the Golden Bears and jumped out to a quick lead over the pack within the first 10 strokes in its heat. The Bears built a four-seat lead over Yale over the first few hundred meters and maintained that lead through the halfway mark. Cal gradually extended its lead to almost a full boat length over the second half of the race to take first in a time of 5:38.194.
 
In its heat, the 2V8+ set the pace early and got out to a four-seat lead within the first 10 strokes over Boston and Syracuse. By the 750-meter mark, the Bears were ahead by almost a full boat length over the field with Boston and Syracuse following. Cal's lead grew to open water by the midway point and the Bears maintained that lead through the finish in a time of 05:45.922.
 
The 3V8+ kept the win streak going, jumping out to a four-seat lead over Yale and the rest of the field in the opening 15 strokes of its heat. The Bears opened almost a full-boat lead over the Bulldogs at the 750-meter mark. That margin grew to open water by the halfway mark and Cal was able to maintain its lead to the finish coming in first with a time of 5:47.330 – the fastest time of all the 3V8+ heats.
 
In the time trial round of the V4+, Cal posted the second-fastest overall time (6:07.738) to move on to the semifinals later that afternoon. In its semifinal round, Cal got out with Dartmouth in the lead pack after 15 strokes before the Bears took a commanding lead in the first few hundred meters. Cal went ahead by a bit of open water by the 500-meter mark with Dartmouth trailing behind. Dartmouth was able to cut the deficit to half a boat length by the midway point and continued to charge in the third 500 meters. It became tight down stretch as Dartmouth continued to eat into Cal's lead but ultimately ran out of water with the Bears edging the Big Green by less than a second for first in a time of 6:19.301 to advance to tomorrow's grand final.
 
Saturday Schedule (all times EST)
 
9 a.m. – V8+ semifinal 2
Lanes 1-6: Stanford, Pennsylvania, Harvard, Cal (4), Syracuse, Northeastern
 
9:10 a.m. – 2V8+ semifinal 1
Lanes 1-6: Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Washington, Cal (4), Yale, Boston
 
9:40 a.m. – 3V8+ semifinal 2
Lanes 1-6: Pennsylvania, Princeton, Harvard, Cal (4), Boston, Northeastern
 
11:50 a.m. – V4 grand final
Lanes 1-6: Colgate, Brown, Cal (3), FIT, Washington, Dartmouth
 
Friday Results
 
V8+
1. Cal - 05:38.194
2. Yale - 05:40.964
3. Stanford - 05:43.731
4. Cornell - 05:50.468
5. Oregon St. - 05:56.958
6. UC San Diego - 05:57.484
 
2V8+
1. Cal - 05:45.922
2. Syracuse - 05:49.435
3. Boston - 05:53.529
4. Stanford - 05:56.429
5. Drexel - 06:12.342
6. Santa Clara - 06:25.859
 
3V8+
1. Cal - 05:47.330
2. Yale - 05:50.060
3. Pennsylvania - 06:01.703
4. Navy - 06:16.713
 
V4+
1. Cal - 06:19.301
2. Dartmouth - 06:20.141
3. Holy Cross - 06:23.514
4. Columbia - 06:24.854
5. Stetson - 06:25.871
6. Drexel - 06:31.588
 
Friday Lineups
 
V8+
Coxswain: Luca Vieira
Stroke: Tommy Barrell
7: Wilson Morton
6: Tobias Kristensen
5: Harry Manton
4: Noah Anger
3: Robbie Prosser
2: Alexander Baroni
Bow: Pablo Moreno
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Iliad Izadi
Stroke: Tomba Morreau
7: Nathan Phelps
6: Maximilian Pfautsch
5: Jamie Arnold
4: Rory Menzies
3: Leonard Brahms
2: Henry Furrer
Bow: Matthew Gallagher
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
Stroke: Travis Jorgensen
7: Blake Van Doren
6: Jeremy Beale
5: Thomas Heerding
4: Matthew Waddell
3: Marcus Cameron
2: Nemanja Luledzija
Bow: Mihajlo Dedic
 
V4+
Coxswain: Austin Chen
Stroke: Farley Dimond-Brown
3: Luuk Rodenburg
2: Kazimir Kujda
Bow: Dan Bradbery
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's rowing, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMrowing), Instagram (@calmrowing) and Facebook (Cal Crew).