Boston University
IRA Regatta
Terriers Advance to National Championship Race Saturday
June 5, 2009 | Men's Rowing
June 5, 2009
IRA Championship Event Information | Watch (Saturday)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Boston University men's crew team continued its string of strong performances in the past month with both varsity eight boats advancing to the Grand Final during day two of the IRA Championships on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. Ranked seventh in the IRA Coaches poll, the Terriers surprised the rowing community by finishing ahead of No. 4 Wisconsin in a thrilling finish for the third and final berth available in Friday's semifinal race.
Only a month ago did both of the varsity eight boats make BU program history by advancing to the Grand Finals of the Eastern Sprints in the same year for the first-time ever. The crew carried the momentum over to the IRAs and made history once again.
BU will have an uphill battle for a medal in the National Championship race, as the varsity eight will go up against No. 1 California, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Harvard, No. 5 Washington and No. 6 Brown. The race is slated for approximately 3:15 p.m. EDT. Fans will able to watch and listen to the event through the ECAC website.
The Terriers came out of the gate strong in the semifinal race, staying close with the Golden Bears through the first 500 meters. By the halfway point, Cal easily separated itself from the rest of the boats and finished first at 5:46.40. Only the top three boats from each semifinal would advance to the Grand Final, and the Terriers found themselves battling with Harvard and Wisconsin for one of the last two spots.
With 1,000 meters to go, all three boats were practically dead even with the Crimson taking a slight lead. 500 meters later, Harvard created enough distance for comfort and finished second at 5:49.30, leaving the third berth up for grabs.
At the 500-meter mark, Wisconsin led by about 1.5 seconds, but the Terriers never gave up and mounted a serious charge to reach the Grand Final for the first time since 2005. According to the split times provided by Jamco, the Terriers posted a time of 1:27.03 in the final 500 meters against the Badgers' split of 1:28.75. BU finished third at 5:50.30 with Wisconsin taking fourth at 5:50.70.
On May 3 outside of Chicago, the Badgers defeated BU for the Jablonic Cup by approximately six seconds (5:54.8 - 6:00.6), making Friday's result all the more gratifying for first-year head coach Thomas Bohrer and his team.
The exciting finish capped a great day for the Terriers, as the second varsity eight boat won its semifinal heat to advance to the Grand Final as well. Ranked fifth, BU will compete against No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Brown, No. 3 California, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 6 Harvard on Saturday with the race slated for approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT.
The Terriers flew out of the gate, taking a 1.5 second lead after 500 meters, but Syracuse stormed back to make the race dead even with 500 left in the race. However, the Orange exerted too much energy to catch up, as the Terriers finished first at 6:01.92 and left Syracuse behind in second at 6:05.71.
The freshman eight crew will compete in the third level final on Saturday at 11:24 EDT after finishing fourth in its semifinal race. The Terriers needed to win the heat to reach the Grand Final or place 2nd/3rd to advance to the Petite.
Midway through the race, the Terriers were almost two seconds ahead of Dartmouth for the third spot. However, the Big Green caught up and finished third at 6:06.25, as the Terriers lost steam and finished fourth at 6:12.31.
Day Two Results
Varsity Eight (Semifinal A)
California - 5:46.400
Harvard - 5:49.300
BU - 5:50.300
Wisconsin - 5:50.700
Columbia - 6:07.800
Dartmouth - 6:10.000
Second Varsity Eight (Repechage 3)
BU - 6:01.916
Syracuse - 6:05.713
George Washington - 6:17.863
Dartmouth - 6:32.528
Freshman Eight (Repechage 3)
Wisconsin - 5:59.202
Syracuse - 6:04.624
Dartmouth - 6:06.249
BU - 6:12.312
Gonzaga - 6:15.776
