BOSTON – The Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA) announced its end-of-year awards for 2025 beginning on June 18. Junior
Grant Gwadz was selected as an Empacher-IRCA All-American second team member, while 10 additional Terriers garnered Empacher-IRCA Scholar-Athlete status.
Filippo de Marsanich,
Ian Doud,
Ethan Feldman,
Wynant Hubbard,
Jan Koska,
Hannah Noguchi,
Caleb Schwartz,
Luke Stroh,
Tucker Thomas and
Ian Varga were BU's 10 scholar-athlete recipients.
In order to be named an "All-American", rowers and coxswains must have met the following criteria:
- The student-athlete must meet all eligibility rules defined by their institution
- The student must have raced in their team's varsity boat for the current spring racing season
- The student-athlete must be nominated by their institution
- The head coach of the student athlete's institution must be in good standing with the IRCA
Nominated student-athletes are then selected by the IRCA Board of Directors to "First Team", "Second Team", or "Honorable Mention" based on the following criteria:
- Strength of finish of the institution's varsity boat
- Nomination rank within institution
- Coach's comments, individual achievements, and erg score
In order to be named a "scholar athlete", rowers and coxswains must have met the following criteria:
- Athletes from all IRCA Member Schools are eligible
- Athletes must be in their second year or more of eligibility
- Athletes must have competed in their program's top three boats during the current season or raced at the 2022 IRA Championship
- Athletes must have, at least, a 3.50 cumulative GPA through fall semester
Gwadz was a fixture in BU's Varsity 8+ throughout the year, occupying the six and bow seats before settling into the seven seat for the Eastern Sprints and IRA National Championship Regatta. Named to the IRCA Athlete Watchlist ahead of the spring, Gwadz helped the Terrier V8 sweep the Holy Cross Invite against the Crusaders, Temple, Hobart and Marist back on April 19. He was also in the V8 for BU's triumph over Columbia to help the Terriers retain the revived Lusins Cup. Back in the fall, he was in the six seat for the Championship 8+ that placed 13th out of 30 crews in a time of 14:12.784 at the Head of the Charles Regatta, his second time in BU's top boat at the event in his career.
Gwadz continues a trend with at least one Terrier notching an All-American accolade in the last five years. Koska was the last Terrier to earn a Second Team selection back in 2024.
BU has placed at least 10 student-athletes on the IRA's list in the last five years. Doud, Feldman, Noguchi, Thomas and Varga all received scholar-athlete recognition for the second consecutive year, with Feldman earning the top IRA scholastic honor for the third season in a row. De Marsanich, Hubbard, Koska, Schwartz and Stroh all captured their first scholar-athlete awards in their respective collegiate careers.
The men's rowing program recorded a 3.35 grade-point average during the spring semester. On the water, BU finished 14th overall at the IRA Championship, with its Second and Third Varsity 8+ crews finishing 12th in the nation in their respective entries.
2025 EMPACHER-IRCA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
