Beavers Finish Day One of IRA's
CAMDEN, N.J. – The No. 14 Oregon State men’s crew began the three-day competition at the IRA Championships by advancing two of three boats to their respective semifinals on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. on Thursday.
All three Beaver crews finished fourth in their morning heats, with the Freshman 4+ logging perhaps the most impressive performance. In the debut of time trials for 4+ crews at the IRA Championships, the Oregon State crew consisting of coxswain Stefan Evano (Eugene, Ore.) and rowers Mike Luecker (Morgana, Calif.), Evan Peterson (Kenmore, Wash.), Rob Hannah (Springfield, Ore.), and Joe Wainwright (Alameda, Calif.) finished the 1,750 meter course in 5:58.044, good enough for fourth out of the 21 entries.
“The time trial format in the Varsity 4+ is unique and it was a new experience for these freshmen,” Oregon State head coach Steve Todd said. “But they raced the piece well and came through the line in fourth place in a field of 22 boats. It’s a good start for these guys and it will be great to watch them progress this week.”
By finishing in the top half, the Beavers have earned a spot the ‘A’ Semifinals, which come with the opportunity to advance to the Grand Final on Saturday, June 7.
Two strong starts from crews from Wisconsin and Orange Coast College kept the Oregon State Junior Varsity 8+ crew away from an automatic berth in the semifinals, as the Beavers found themselves in a tight battle for third with the JV8+ Princeton crew. In the end the Tiger boat held a margin of .998 seconds over Oregon State to take third in the morning heat.
The Beavers JV8+ made up for the narrow loss later in the day, when they bested their morning time by 5.277 seconds and defeated crews from Georgetown and Dartmouth. The win in the repechage gives Oregon State a spot in the semifinals, where a top three finish will ensure a spot in the grand final on Sunday.
“The JV8 raced a nice clean race against Princeton in the morning, but they knew that they would have to find another gear in the repachage in the afternoon,” Todd said. “They were well matched against the JV from Georgetown and when they got their chance in the afternoon they really put together a strong, sharp race and came through with a win to put them in the 'A' Semifinal.”
It was a fourth place finish of the Oregon State Varsity 8+ in the morning heat that consisted of four of the top 14 V8+ crews in the country. No. 3 Brown and No. 11 Harvard established themselves as the top two crews in the heat and battled for first, while No. 6 Yale and the No. 14 Beavers were left to battle for third. At the end of the race the Beavers found themselves in fourth and moving on to the repechage in the afternoon.
One more top 10 crew stood in Oregon State’s way in the afternoon in No. 9 Columbia. The two crews established themselves at the head of the four crew heat. The Beavers followed closely behind the Columbia crew, but could not break past as they finished the race behind Columbia by 3.591 seconds. The Beavers V8+ crew now advances to the semifinal on Friday that will give them the opportunity to advance to the 3rd Level Final on Sunday.
“Columbia has had one of their best seasons in years and they really showed a lot of speed,” Todd said. “Our guys put down a good time that would have had them in a tight race for first in any of the other repechages.”
The OSU crews return to action tomorrow when the F4+ races in the 'A' semifinal which begins at 5:48 a.m. PST. The JV8+ will also race in the ‘A’ Semifinal in their division as it squares off against Pac-10 rival Washington as well as five other crews for three spots in the grand final. The race is scheduled to begin at 8:12 a.m. PST. The V8+ will finish the Beavers' day at 9:24 a.m. PST when they compete against crews from No. 13 Syracuse, No. 17 Georgetown, No. 20 Dartmouth, Colgate, and Holy Cross in the ‘C’ Semifinal.
For live results for the IRA Championships, log on to www.row2k.com.
Results
Morning Heats
Varsity 8+
1. Brown 5:51.292
2. Harvard 5:52.993
3. Yale 5:57.971
4. Oregon State 6:04.903
5. Purdue 6:09.401
6. Colgate 6:20.427
Junior Varsity 8+
1. Wisconsin 5:57.550
2. Orange Coast 5:59.284
3. Princeton 6:07.906
4. Oregon State 6:08.904
5. Michigan 6:17.887
6. Colgate 6:26.873
Freshman 4+ Time Trial
1. Washington 5:43.138
2. California 5:48.501
3. Wisconsin 5:56.800
4. Oregon State 5:58.044
5. Drexel 5:59.080
6. Rutgers 6:00.150
Afternoon Repachages
Varsity 8+
1. Columbia 5:57.651
2. Oregon State 6:01.242
3. George Washington 6:10.385
4. Holy Cross 6:11.299
Junior Varsity 8+
1. Oregon State 6:03.627
2. Georgetown 6:09.605
3. Dartmouth 6:17.706
