Men’s Rowing Opens First Day at IRA National Championship Regatta

Friday, May 29

Gold River, CA / Lake Natoma

8:30 AM

Boston University

IRA Championship

Photo of the BU Men's Rowing Third Varsity 8 at the 2026 IRA National Championship Regatta.

Photo by: Boston University Athletics

Men’s Rowing Opens First Day at IRA National Championship Regatta

May 29, 2026 | Men's Rowing

Results

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Boston University men's rowing program advanced three crews to their top semifinals as part of the opening day at the 2026 IRA National Championship Regatta on Friday (May 29) on Lake Natoma.

BU's Varsity 8 and Third Varsity 8 each finished third in their respective heats to move to the top semifinal slots. The Terrier Varsity 4 reached the ABC semifinals, capturing third place for a spot in the B final.

Waters remained calm during the entire morning session, though unseasonably cooler temperatures in the low 60 degrees greeted rowers. The sun appeared for the Varsity 4's semifinal race in the afternoon session.

The day began with the Varsity 8, coxed by Emily Slawin and stroked by Alessandro Gardino. The Terriers sat under one length behind Harvard and Northeastern and six seats over Wisconsin in the first 500 meters. The Badgers tried to gain a few seats on BU at the halfway mark, but BU countered with its own push to pick up three seats on the second-place Huskies. At the finish line, the Terriers crossed in 5:48.39 for third place, advancing to the AB semifinals.

BU's Second Varsity 8, coxed by Luke Stroh and stroked by Griffith Coupland, was within one length of Cal, Syracuse and Yale in the top three spots, and gradually built a large lead over Georgetown and La Salle. The Terriers attempted to chase the Bulldogs for third in the final 500 meters, but crossed the line fourth in 5:52.14 to move to the CD semifinals.

In the Third Varsity 8, coxed by Ben Brinckerhoff and stroked by Liam Feeney, the Terriers bolted off the drop to take a lead on Syracuse at the start. The Orange pulled into second by the midpoint, but BU applied pressure in the last 500 meters to create a photo finish. At the end, the Terriers were third in 5:56.89, just .89 seconds behind Syracuse, to reach the AB semifinals.

The Terriers sent out a Varsity 4, coxed by Hannah Noguchi and stroked by Mason Laundry, for morning time trials. With a time of 6:20.936, the crew placed ninth out of 29 crews for a spot in the ABC semifinal later in the afternoon vs. Penn, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown and San Diego.

Operating out of Lane 3, five crews overlapped early as Dartmouth and Brown burst out of the gate. BU cleared the Bears halfway through and gradually zipped past the Big Green moments later while Penn and Harvard gained separation for the top-two spots. The Terriers fended off Dartmouth to place third in 6:32.31, the fourth-fastest semifinal time of the 18 ABC crews.

Saturday (May 30) begins with the Varsity 8's turn in the AB semifinals at 8:56 a.m. PT.

RESULTS (MAY 29)
Varsity 8
Heat 3

Harvard – 5:42.41
Northeastern – 5:45.27
BU – 5:48.39
Wisconsin – 5:50.73
Holy Cross – 5:57.23
MIT – 6:09.21

Second Varsity 8
Heat 4

Cal – 5:45.15
Syracuse – 5:47.26
Yale – 5:48.99
BU – 5:52.14
Georgetown – 6:04.34
La Salle – 6:07.23

Third Varsity 8
Heat 3

Princeton – 5:54.38
Syracuse – 5:56.00
BU – 5:56.89
Cornell – 6:05.16
Wisconsin – 6:10.41

Varsity 4
Time Trial

6:20.936 (Ninth of 29 crews – Advanced to ABC Semifinal)

ABC Semifinal

Penn – 6:26.16
Harvard – 6:26.95
BU – 6:32.31
Dartmouth – 6:34.24
Brown – 6:39.90
San Diego – 6:45.43

RACE SCHEDULE (MAY 30)

8:56 a.m. PT – Varsity 8 AB Semifinal
- Lane 5 vs. Cal, Harvard, Penn, Stanford, Brown
9:20 a.m. PT – Third Varsity 8 AB Semifinal
- Lane 5 vs. Cal, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford
9:52 a.m. PT – Second Varsity 8 CD Semifinal
- Lane 2 vs. Drexel, Temple, Navy, La Salle, UC San Diego
11:04 a.m. PT – Varsity 4 B Final
- Lane 3 vs. Syracuse, Northeastern, Cornell, Jacksonville, Dartmouth