Boston University
IRA Regatta
Terriers Complete First Day of IRAs
June 4, 2009 | Men's Rowing
June 4, 2009
Friday's Schedule | IRA Championship Information
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Boston University men's crew team opened the 107th IRA Championships with a strong performance, as the varsity eight and second varsity eight boats finished second in their respective heats Thursday morning on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. By placing second, the V8 squad earned an automatic berth to Friday's A-B Semifinals and avoided having to race Thursday afternoon.
With today's performance, the V8 boat guaranteed itself a top-12 finish, which would be its first since 2005 when the Terriers took sixth in the Grand Final. Ranked seventh in the IRA Coaches' Poll, BU fell behind No. 2 Stanford early in the race but also created plenty of distance between itself and No. 10 Columbia to grab posession of a top-two result. The Cardinal posted a time of 5:58.30, while the Terriers finished at 6:04.670, nearly five seconds ahead of No. 10 Columbia.
The Terriers will need to place in the top three of their semifinal heat on Friday to advance to the Grand Final. BU will face off against No. 1 California, No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 10 Columbia and No. 14 Dartmouth. The bottom three squads will compete in Saturday's Petite Final.
The fifth-ranked 2V8 squad took an early lead during the first 500 meters, but No. 2 Brown caught up by the half-way mark and earned automatic entry into Saturday's Grand Final with a time of 6:00.377. The Terriers and No. 8 Cornell battled hard for the second spot, but BU came out ahead at 6:05.593, just 0.301 seconds ahead of the Big Red.
The boat must win Friday's semifinal to advance to the Grand Final, a feat not accomplished since 1977. The Terriers will face off against No. 9 Syracuse, No. 12 George Washington and No. 14 Dartmouth.
No. 1 Washington won the freshman eight heat at 5:57.630, while the No. 13 Terriers took fifth at 6:24.171 in the morning heat. They will compete in the repechage round on Friday, needing to win to reach the Grand Final or place 2nd/3rd to reach the Petite Final.
The Terriers will face off against No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 14 Dartmouth and No. 16 Gonzaga.
Day One Morning Heat Results
Varsity Eight (Heat 4)
Stanford - 5:58.300
BU - 6:04.670
Columbia - 6:09.460
MIT - 6:19.230
Penn - 6:22.910
Second Varsity Eight (Heat3)
Brown - 6:00.377
BU - 6:05.593
Cornell - 6:05.894
Columbia - 6:21.253
Dartmouth - 6:33.763
Freshman Eight (Heat 3)
Washington - 5:57.630
Wisconsin - 6:09.617
Princeton - 6:14.260
Northeastern - 6:15.886
BU - 6:24.171
San Diego - 6:30.271
