Men’s Rowing Finishes Strong to Place 12th at IRA National Championship Regatta

Sunday, May 31

Gold River, CA / Lake Natoma

9:15 AM

Boston University

IRA Championship

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

Photo by: Boston University Athletics

Men’s Rowing Finishes Strong to Place 12th at IRA National Championship Regatta

May 31, 2026 | Men's Rowing

Results

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Boston University men's rowing concluded its tenure at the 2026 IRA National Championship Regatta with a 12th-place team finish on Sunday (May 31) at Lake Natoma.

All three of BU's eights either matched or exceeded their seeding from their national rankings while improving two spots from last year.

BU's Varsity 8 and Third Varsity 8 competed in the Petite Finals, where the latter placed third to finish ninth overall. The 3V has earned a top-10 finish in all but one IRA iteration since 2014. The Terrier 1V was 12th overall while the Second Varsity 8 won the C final to place 13th in the nation.

Pristine conditions greeted rowers in the morning with glass water, clear skies and very little wind. Temperatures gradually moved throughout the 70s as the morning waned.

BU's Second Varsity 8, coxed by Luke Stroh and stroked by Griffith Coupland, ignited the day in the C Final. Drexel took an early lead off the start in Lane 3, but the Terriers passed the Dragons by the 500-meter mark. BU expanded its advantage with 500 meters to go and was victorious under a length at 5:51.180, 2.77 seconds in front of runner-up Drexel. That placed the Terriers 13th in the country, matching its national ranking.

The Terrier Third Varsity 8, coxed by Ben Brinckerhoff and stroked by Liam Feeney, competed in the Petite Final. Narrowly trailing the field in the first half of the course, BU accelerated its rate at the midpoint and vaulted past Syracuse, Stanford and Northeastern. The Terriers gave a last-minute challenge to Penn for a photo finish, missing second place in the event by less than three-tenths but earning third with a time of 5:54.900. Outpacing its national ranking by two spots, BU caps the season ninth in the nation, finishing inside the top 10 for the second time in three seasons.

Sunday concluded with BU's Varsity 8, coxed by Emily Slawin and stroked by Alessandro Gardino, in the Petite Final. Operating out of Lane 6, the Terriers contended with Yale, Syracuse and Brown at the start. BU eventually slid into sixth place in 5:50.818, slotting in 12th overall among their national counterparts.

RESULTS (MAY 31)
Varsity 8
Petite Final

Penn – 5:44.343
Yale – 5:44.556
Northeastern – 5:45.835
Syracuse – 5:46.852
Brown – 5:46.952
BU – 5:50.818

Second Varsity 8
C Final