Report from the IRA Regatta
June 3, 2010 | Men's Rowing
June 3, 2010
Listen | Live Results | IRA Central
Check here for videos and pictures from the IRA Championships in Camden, N.J. The Terriers drove up Tuesday and had two practice sessions on Wednesday in preparation for the start on Thursday.
There will be post-race interviews and pictures linked throughout the rest of the week. Fans can also get immediate live results from the twitter feed, @BUAthletics.
WEDNESDAY
The highlight of the first day for the crew was the speech given by Olympic gold medalist and BU Hall of Famer Ted Nash ('55) before the second session. He lives about 10 minutes away from the course and stopped by to provide advice to the team. Nash has been a long-time coach at the international level, 2008 Olympics included, and even coached BU's second-year head coach Thomas Bohrer.
Coach Bohrer previews the IRAs
Ted Nash ('55) discusses his time at BU
THURSDAY
To get the full recap/results of the day one competition, click here.
The weather wasn't been too bad. Temperatures were hovering around 90 degrees, but fortunately there was a decent tail wind. The coaches have stressed to the crew about eating fruit, staying in the shade and even getting in the pool at the hotel to remain fresh and keep the body temperature level.
So to wrap up the day, it was very successful, but as the coaches and crew will tell anyone, it's just day one. The V8 boat felt great after the first race knowing it was close to Harvard the entire time. That momentum carried over to the afternoon for a thrilling repechage victory. Coach Bohrer mentioned the boat is on fire, and you can tell from Macris' comments below that this was a confidence booster.
Going by seeds alone, the 15th-seeded boat has already overachieved by earning a top-12 result with the semifinal berth, but the guys will try to make an ever bigger splash on Friday against No. 1 Washington, No. 2 California, No. 9 Columbia, No. 10 Syracuse and No. 11 Northeastern with the top three boats advancing to the Grand Final and the others competing in the Petites on Saturday.
The 11th-seeded 2V8 finished fourth in its morning heat but wasn't thrilled with its performance. Like the V8, they used the repechage to get things in order and win in the afternoon. It will face No. 2 California, No. 4 Cornell, No. 6 Harvard, No. 8 Northeastern and No. 13 Columbia.
All of the guys have a lot of energy and are always looking to get revenge on their rivals from earlier races in the season. When it comes to the freshmen, there exists the concern though that they will not be able to control it in their first apperance at the IRAs. Well, that wasn't an issue this morning. Washington won the heat by four seconds, so the question was who would grab the second automatic berth.
Stanford had the early lead and tried to pull away from BU, but the Terriers kept their composure and came from behind to finish second. Of course, they will face off against the Cardinal again in the semifinal, along with No. 2 Harvard, No. 4 California, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 13 Navy.
By virtue of finishing fourth at Eastern Sprints, the freshman eight may have the highest expectations of any of the BU boats this weekend, but as seen in some of the other races today, nothing is for certain. They will have to fight hard for a Grand Final appearance, as the other crews are just as motivated to advance.
The V4 boat was in an odd situation during its morning heat. With three of the four boats advancing to the semifinals, BU only had to race hard for about the first 1,000-meters as Penn fell well behind.
The crew did come back later in the afternoon/evening along with the freshman eight boat to row on the river for about 30 minutes. Due to competing in two races, both varsity eight boats will have a quick practice on the river early Friday morning.
The crews are finishing up strategy sessions with the coaches right now and will probably all stay up to watch the rest of the Celtics/Lakers game. Everyone have a great night and thank you to those who have already submitted comments.
Senior coxswain M. Escallon discusses the V4 boat's performance
Freshman coxswain S. Tadiri discusses the F8 boat's performance
Sophomore coxswain B. McGee discusses the 2V8 boat's performance
Senior H. Macris (six-seat) discusses the V8 boat's performance
Coach Bohrer discusses day one of the IRAs
FRIDAY
To get the full recap/results of the day two competition, click here.
So heartbreak is certainly an appropritae word to describe today, but disheartening would not be one of them. All of the boats competed hard but found themselves up against stiff competition. The freshman eight was in a dogfight with Harvard and Stanford for second place but unfortunately finished fourth, missing out by 0.6 seconds to the Crimson. Cal won the race with a 1.2 second margin, so that shows how exciting it was to watch.
The crew was of course down following the race with disappointment showing on their faces, but as assistant coach John Lindberg told them, they raced fast and well. There's still just a couple of things missing from having a perfect race. Just look at the Eastern Sprints Final, in which Harvard placed six seconds ahead of the Terriers for the victory.
So now, they will need to keep their heads high and prepare for the Petites because three other boats will be looking for 'revenge' after earlier defeats. That list includes Columbia, Wisconsin and Brown, who all fell to BU during the spring dual-season.
The members of the varsity eight boat know something about close races after slipping into last year's Grand Final by edging out Wisconsin with a 0.4 second margin. This year, it was a 0.02 second margin with Syracuse being the benefactor. It was the last race of the day, so all of the other crew members were near the finish line cheering the boat on. From our angle, it looked like the V8 had won, but that's why you have cameras and why you can't trust your own eyes.
Both Coach Thomas Bohrer and BU alum Ted Nash talked to the team after the race and pretty much passed along the same message. It was a strong race with everything left out in the water. The opportunity to make a statement though still exists, as the crew was seeded 15th entering the regatta. It will race in the Petites tomorrow against other strong programs, including Dartmouth and Princeton.
Furthermore, the men lost races in the spring to both Northeastern and Columbia, so tomorrow presents them an opportunity to create some momentum for the program carrying into next season. As always though, it will be tough, but that's what makes racing so much fun to watch. It comes down to the wire more often than not.
The coaches will try to keep the mood light this evening by having a team dinner. The guys did not practice this afternoon, as the sun was out in full force this morning. Each boat either did some stretching or went for a walk near the course.
Freshman K. Jones discusses the V4 boat's performance
Coach Bohrer discusses day two of the IRAs
SATURDAY (updated 11:30 p.m.)
To get the full recap/results of day three competition, click here. Check out the 
Photo Gallery covering the entire trip.
The favorite word used today by the coaches and crew was 'bittersweet'. Two boats missed out on the Grand Final by 0.22 seconds yesterday and the other two boats knew they could have had stronger races in their semifinals. The guys (and the three female coxswains) could have easily thrown in the towel today since a national title wasn't on the line.
There are not many sports where teams compete in a consolation round at a championship end-of-the-season event. The coaches said at the team dinner last night that this was BU's opportunity to make a statement. Well, Terrier Pride was on full display as the V8 and F8 pulled out big Petite Final victories, while the 2V8 and V4 crews raced hard for third-place finishes (ninth overall).
There was a lot of hugging and high-fives going around following the two wins, but one could see in their eyes the disappointment still hanging around from yesterday. The V8's time was the fifth-best of the day, while the F8 had the sixth-best.
Despite the hurt from missing-out on the Grand Finals, all of the men never quit or gave up today, leaving it out all in the water for the rowing community to see. The hard work paid off, as the Terriers actually finished one place higher as a team this year compared to last.
The 2009 team recorded 125 points for seventh-place, while this year's team had 126 for sixth. While the winner of the varsity eight's national title may get the biggest spotlight, having depth from top to bottom is critical to success, especially in instances like injury. This week proved that the Terriers are heading in the right direction.
The coaches will be the first to admit that finishing sixth in a Grand Final is better than winning a Petite, but with the way the races ended today, especially from the Freshman Eight boat as an indicator of the future, the Terriers will be able to carry a lot of momentum into next season.
Coach Bohrer made sure to thank the seniors today for helping lay the foundation for his vision. Check out the video interviews below for more of his comments and also of those from the senior captains, Olympian Meindert Klem and classmate Rich McGovern.
A big thank you to all of the parents and fans who came out. Many of the rowers commented after the race how clear they could hear the "Go BU" screams from the middle of the river. BU women's rowing head coach Stacey Rippetoe also came out to watch the races.
Following the races, there were plenty of hamburgers and hot dogs waiting for the team and this blogger was more than willing to help out in making sure none of the food went to waste.
The bus ride was uneventful and many of the crew members will head home Sunday or Monday. Of course, those still in town tomorrow will head to the Boathouse to clean the boats and other equipment.
So that's a wrap! This blog is an experiment and was used to not only provide videos/pictures but a little insight into the mood of the team and what's happening behind the scenes. As such, we welcome your comments, feedback and suggestions to be submitted by e-mailing GoBU@bu.edu or by clicking here.
Coach Tom Bohrer discusses the final day of competition
M. Klem and R. McGovern discuss the V8's performance
T. Clarke discusses the 2V8's performance
