Men's Crew Sends all Six Boats to IRA Finals
June 1, 2007 | Men's Rowing
CHERRY HILL, N.J. - The fours continued to be a strength for Boston University men's crew as both the freshman and varsity fours made the Grand and Petite Finals, respectively, and all six boats in the championships made it through to a final on day two of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships on the Cooper River on Friday.
The varsity and freshman eights as well as the open four and four without cox all made it to their respective Third Level Finals.
The freshman four left the start cleanly, rowing a 41 in the second semifinal of the event. BU was level with George Washington and Oregon State through the breakage zone but by 500m had pulled level with Navy in second place. The Midshipmen took a slight lead, but BU, rowing a 34, again pulled even and this time passed Navy by the 1250m mark. The Terriers placed second in the semifinal in 6:36.60 behind California (6:29.31). BU will face Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Cal and Oregon State in the Grand Final on Saturday at 9:36 a.m.
Out of the six boats in the final tomorrow, BU's novice four turned in the third-best time today, ahead of Princeton (6:36.75), Harvard (6:36.90) and Oregon State (6:39.05).
All six boats got off the start together in the varsity four race after a restart caused by Puget Sound turning sideways in its lane. But by 1000m, BU had fallen to fifth and couldn't make a move. The Terriers finished there in 6:31.21 and will row Puget Sound, Colgate, MIT, Oregon State, and UMass in the Petite Final at 10:12 a.m.
The afternoon's semifinals featured some close races, and the varsity eight was no exception. BU started off the line rowing a 46 and took an early lead over the field. Syracuse pressed the Terriers at 500m, and the Orange were joined in the pursuit by Purdue and Virginia, and all four boats crossed the 1000m mark level. The Terriers made a push and retook the lead briefly but couldn't fend off 'Cuse. BU and UVa went back and forth for second place in the third 500m. The Terriers rowed a 38 during a final sprint that was four boats across. Virginia narrowly won the semi, in 5:40.37, just ahead of BU, which crossed the line in 5:40.42 - just five hundredths of a second behind the Cavaliers. The Terriers will race UVa, Syracuse, Navy, Georgetown and Penn on Saturday at 12:36 p.m.
The freshman eight began its semifinal in fourth place behind Holy Cross, Wisconsin and Navy. At 500m, BU was just a few seats back on Holy Cross and Navy, who were level. The Terriers challenged and passed the Crusaders to take third and rowed a 36.5 to pull even with Navy at the 1000m mark. BU held a 1/2 length lead over the Midshipmen, rowing a 37.5 at 1350m, but Navy out-sprinted the Terriers at the finish. BU placed third, just 22 hundredths of a second behind (5:55.46). The novice squad will row Navy, Wisconsin, Dartmouth, Columbia and Syracuse in the Third Level Final on Saturday at 8:36 a.m.
The open four placed fifth (7:07.90) in its morning repechage, while the four without cox was fourth (6:40.59) in its morning rep. The straight four started the race fourth but fought Yale for the third spot through the middle 1000m. However, the Bulldogs upped their rate to 38 at 1750m to beat out the Terriers. The open four will face Penn, Navy, Michigan, and Dartmouth on Saturday at 7:48 a.m., while the four without cox will row against MIT, Temple, Lehigh, Brown and Michigan at 8:24 a.m.
DAY TWO RESULTS
Open Fours Repechage 1
Washington 6:37.89; Wisconsin B 6:44.67; George Washington 6:59.92; Pennsylvania 7:04.5; BU 7:07.90
Freshman Fours Semifinal 2
California 6:29.31; BU 6:36.60; Oregon State 6:39.05; Navy 6:39.60; Grand Valley 6:41.35; George Washington 6:49.46
Varsity Fours Without Repechage 1
Syracuse 6:25.94; Georgetown 6:35.71; Yale 6:38.26; BU 6:40.59; Michigan 6:45.52
Freshman Eights Semifinal 3
Wisconsin 6:51.90; Navy 5:55.24; BU 5:55.46; Holy Cross 6:00.53; Hobart 6:09.31; Michigan 6:14.10
Varsity Eights Semifinal 3
Virginia 5:40.37; BU 5:40.42; Syracuse 5:41.09; Purdue 5:43.85; Holy Cross 5:50.56; Columbia 6:00.14
Varsity Fours Semifinal 2
California 6:31.44; Hobart 6:18.59; Brown 6:18.46; UMass 6:19.21; BU 6:31.21; Puget Sound 6:31.44
