Oregon State
Intercollegiate Rowing Champ.
Men's Varsity Four, Freshman Eight Advance To IRA Grand Finals
June 02, 2000 | Women's Rowing
June 2, 2000
CAMDEN, N.J. - - Oregon State's varsity four and freshman eight crews advanced to their respective Grand Finals (places 1-6) at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships with a second-place showing by the varsity four and a third-place effort from the novice eight in their semifinal races on Friday.
Both crews are assured of a top-six finish at the IRAs, which are the unofficial national championship for men's crew. The boats needed to finish in the top three in their semifinal to advance to the Grand Final. The varsity four races at 11:30 EDT (8:30 PDT) Saturday morning, and the freshman eight at 1:30 EDT.
The varsity eight wraps up its season in the Level III Final on Saturday at 3:30 EDT.
The varsity four pulled out to an early lead over the rest of the pack, but Wisconsin closed the gap in the final sprint to claim the victory in 6:31.46. OSU crossed in 6:33.1 to edge Cornell, which finished in 6:34.9, by a few seats.
The varsity four had not rowed together as a four until Thursday's opening heat. With Friday's time, the Beavers lowered their season-standard for the second consecutive day, cutting seven seconds off their previous best.
"This crew just continues to amaze me," OSU coach Dave Reischman said. "It's an interesting event because we don't know much about the crews involved, but these guys continue to learn. We had the lead, then Wisconsin made a move in the sprint and came through to win. (Our guys) did what they should though, and kept an even pace."
After receiving a restart due to a seat coming loose on the first start, the freshman eight got off to a slow start but made a move at the 1000-meter mark to secure a third-place finish when they crossed the finish line in a season-best 5:48.3. California won the race, and OSU was 1.9 seconds behind Wisconsin. The freshman boat rowed its best time of the season for the second straight day as well, beating yesterday's mark of 5:56.07.
"Matt (freshman coach Matt Imes) and I have seen them row better, but they just rowed aggressively today," Reischman said. "They made a move at about 1000 meters and just kept it going and they moved out from there."
RESULTS
VARSITY FOUR - 1. Wisconsin 6:31.46, 2. Oregon State 6:33.01, 3. Cornell 6:34.9, 4. Brown 6:37.28, 5. Loyola 6:41.2, 6. Navy 7:15.37.
FRESHMAN EIGHT - 1. California 5:43.3, 2. Wisconsin 5:46.4, 3. Oregon State 5:48.3, 4. Syracuse 5:51.4, 5. Northeastern 5:57.4, 6. Penn 6:08.5.
