CAMDEN, N.J. – The No. 1 California men's rowing team finished third as a team in the James Ten Eyck standings at the IRA Championships for the second straight year after earning 244 team points at Cooper River on Sunday afternoon. The 2V8+ and 3V8+ placed third in their grand finals and the V8+ won the petite final in 5:24.040 – the fastest time of the entire regatta. The Golden Bears' V4+ placed third in their grand final on Saturday.
 
"I think they all raced great races," Williams Family Head Men's Rowing Coach Scott Frandsen said. "The four, 3V and JV all put it out there trying to win. After facing adversity in the semifinals, the varsity had a choice of who they wanted to be in that B final. That's really emotionally and immensely difficult to get back up and defend who you are in that B final and they did it and went pretty quick. That showed pretty good character and resolve."
 
In the V8+ B final, Cal and Yale were even for second position after 500 meters behind Stanford, but the Bears pulled even with the Cardinal by the halfway mark. Cal continued to push and took a half-boat lead over Northeastern who pulled into second position over the third 500 meters and the Bears led the rest of the way for the win.
 
The Bears' 2V8+ was even with Brown for second position but two seats behind Washington after 500 meters. Cal took a three-seat lead over Harvard for second position and was a half boat behind the Huskies after 1,000 meters.  Harvard pressed and took a two-seat over Cal after the third 500 meters and the Bears were unable to catch up to the Pilgrims and finished about a half second back to place third in a time of 5:27.300. 
 
In the 3V8+ grand final, it was fairly even off the start until Cal, Washington and Harvard formed the lead pack after 250 meters. It remained tight between the trio as Harvard took a slight two-seat lead after 500 meters. The Bears were in third position at the halfway mark, but just two seats behind Harvard and even with the Huskies. Cal then fell behind Washington over the second half of the race and finished third in a time of 5:33.550.
 
"I'm really proud of how the team battled through a challenging spring and challenging week here," Frandsen said. "It's not the result that we've all been working towards, but I definitely feel a lot of pride and honor in how everyone conducted themselves and how they raced. We set our sights on winning the national championship every year and that's a thin branch to be out on. There's no other way to live so I'm proud of the group for how we dedicate ourselves to that every single year."
 
Sunday Results
 
V8+ Petite Final
1. California - 05:24.040
2. Northeastern - 05:25.450
3. Stanford - 05:27.110
4. Pennsylvania - 05:27.320
5. Yale - 05:28.010
6. Navy - 05:34.340
 
2V8+ Grand Final
1. Washington - 05:25.420
2. Harvard - 05:26.870
3. California - 05:27.300
4. Brown - 05:28.680
5. Syracuse - 05:30.670
6. Yale - 05:37.180
 
3V8+ Grand Final
1. Harvard - 05:29.060
2. Washington - 05:29.090
3. California - 05:33.550
4. Yale - 05:40.790
5. Princeton - 05:42.070
6. Syracuse - 05:42.830
 
V4+ Grand Final (Saturday)
1. Washington - 06:11.660
2. Harvard - 06:13.890
3. California - 06:17.470
4. Pennsylvania - 06:21.830
5. Syracuse - 06:23.520
6. Brown - 06:29.120
 
Lineups
V8+
Coxswain: Iliad Izadi
8. Frederik Breuer
7. Angus Dawson
6. Tobias Kristensen
5. Tim Roth
4. Gennaro di Mauro
3. Harry Manton
2. Noah Anger
1. Pablo Moreno
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
8. Louis Nares
7. Wilson Morton
6. Alexander Baroni
5. Leonard Brahms
4. Xavier Gagnon
3. Jeremy Beale
2. Thomas Heerding
1. Robbie Prosser
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Jake Bazulto
8. Osian James
7. Nat Gauden
6. Rory Menzies
5. Johannes Benien
4. Evan Gold
3. Maximilian Pfautsch
2. Andreas Simoni
1. Matthew Waddell
 
V4+
Coxswain: Anna O'Reilly
4. Marcus Cameron
3. James O'Meara
2. Antonio Distefano
1. Nemanja Luledzija
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's rowing, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMrowing), Instagram (@calmrowing) and Facebook (Cal Crew).