No. 4 Cal Sends All 3 Eights To IRA Grand Finals
Bears 1 of 2 Schools With All 4 Boats In Grand Finals
 
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The No. 4 California men's rowing team put itself in position to defend its national title across all three varsity eight boat classes as they all advanced to their respective grand finals at the IRA National Championships at Mercer Lake Saturday afternoon. The V8+ and 3V8+ both won their semifinal rounds while the 2V8+ placed second in its semifinal to advance. The Golden Bears were one of two schools to send all four of their boats to the grand finals as the V4+ raced in its grand final today.
 
"I think all three eights raced really well today and took a good step forward," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "They've now given themselves a good chance to race for the medals and be competitive tomorrow."
 
The V8+ had the first race of the day with Cal, Harvard and Penn getting out in front of the pack and sitting fairly even after 20 strokes. At the 750-meter mark Cal broke away and took first position and was able to build a half-boat lead over Harvard. The Bears never let up over the second half of the race and kept Harvard at bay to comfortably finish in first place in a time of 5:38.194.
 
In the 2V8+ semifinal, Cal and Washington edged out to a narrow lead over the pack after the first 20 strokes. The Bears then took a three-seat lead over the Huskies at the 500-meter mark, which they extended to almost a full boat by the midway point. In the third 500 meters, Washington charged back on Cal and pulled level in the final 500 meters. The Huskies kept their momentum and overtook the Bears over the last 200 meters to take first place with Cal edging out Dartmouth for second place in a time of 5:41.154.
 
The 3V8+ had the last semifinal of the day and it was a fairly even race through the start across the board until Cal broke away and took a slight advantage over Princeton at the 500-meter mark. The Bears were still up three seats over the Tigers by the midway point as the two crews separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Princeton made a move and pulled nearly even with Cal over the last 500 meters, but the Bears responded and re-took a half-boat lead heading into the finish to take first in a time of 05:40.693.
 
In the grand final of the V4+, it was tight across the board over the first 15 strokes. Cal was in second position behind Washington through the first few hundred meters but fell behind the pack in a battle for third place with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and behind Dartmouth and Washington through 500 meters. The Bears fell further behind by the midway point and sat in fourth place rowing right behind FIT and even with Colgate. Cal was unable to mount a comeback and finished less than a tenth of a second behind Colgate for fifth place in a time of 6:22.356.
 
Sunday Schedule (all times EST)
 
9:40 a.m. – 3V8+ grand final
Lanes 1-6: Dartmouth, Princeton, Washington, California (4), Brown, Harvard
 
10:10 a.m. – 2V8+ grand final
Lanes 1-6: Harvard, California (2), Princeton, Washington, Brown, Dartmouth
 
11:00 a.m. – V8+ grand final
Lanes 1-6: Yale, Harvard, Washington, California (4), Princeton, Syracuse
 
Saturday Results
 
V8+
1. California - 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. Washington - 05:39.111
2. California - 05:41.154
3. Dartmouth - 05:41.784
4. Yale - 05:43.541
5. Boston - 05:45.894
6. Pennsylvania - 05:54.784
 
3V8+
1. California - 05:40.693
2. Princeton - 05:42.327
3. Harvard - 05:46.290
4. Boston - 05:54.040
5. Northeastern - 05:56.410
6. Pennsylvania - 06:02.773
 
V4+ grand final
1. Washington - 06:15.019
2. Dartmouth - 06:17.432
3. FIT - 06:19.146
4. Colgate - 06:22.286
5. California - 06:22.356
6. Brown - 06:25.976
 
Saturday 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: Evan Gold
2: Nemanja Luledzija
Bow: Mihajlo Dedic
 
V4+
Coxswain: Austin Chen
Stroke: Farley Dimond-Brown
3: Marcus Cameron
2: Kazimir Kujda
Bow: Dan Bradbery
 
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