Lineups | SU Results | Full Results
CAMDEN, N.J. – The Syracuse University men’s rowing team had three of its four crews advance to the semifinals on Thursday at the 109th IRA Regatta, on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J. The varsity eight advanced to the semifinals after finishing third in its repechage heat. The second varsity eight and varsity four moved into the semifinals with second-place showing in their respective preliminary heats. SU’s freshman eight will race in the third-level final.
“We survived and advanced today. We faced 20 mile-per-hour tailwinds and that is a great equalizer on the water, meaning the fastest crew doesn’t always win,” head coach Dave Reischman said. “The junior varsity eight and varsity four did a great job of advancing to the semifinals with their performances in the morning. The varsity eight had a bit of a stumble, but raced very hard to get through a very difficult repachage.”
The seventh-seeded varsity eight moved into tomorrow’s semifinals with a third-place showing in the second repechage heat of the afternoon. Syracuse posted a time of 5:37.912. No. 13 Cornell won the repechage in 5:36.457. SU’s was forced to race in the repachage after finishing fifth in its preliminary heat, crossing the line in 5:47.233. Top-ranked Washington won the preliminary heat with a time of 5:32.251. The Orange will face No. 2 California, No. 4 Princeton No. 6 Brown, No. 11 Navy and No. 13 Cornell in the first semifinal, scheduled for 12:15 p.m. tomorrow.
Syracuse’s second varsity eight, seeded fifth, advanced to tomorrow’s semifinals with a second-place finish in its preliminary heat. The Orange crossed the finish line in 5:49.588. No. 2 Harvard won the heat with a time of 5:44.671. SU will face No. 1 Washington, No. 4 California, No. 9 Cornell, No. 10 Navy and No. 13 Boston in the first semifinal, scheduled for 11:45 a.m. tomorrow.
The Orange varsity four also advanced to tomorrow’s semifinals with a second-place showing in its preliminary heat. SU recorded a time of 6:25.404. Brown won the heat in 6:14.553. Syracuse will face Georgetown, Wisconsin, Washington, Drexel and Temple in the first semifinal, scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow.
The 11th-seeded freshman eight finished four in its preliminary heat, crossing the finish line in 5:59.224. No. 2 Harvard won the heat with a time of 5:38.791. SU tallied a fifth-place finish in its repechage heat, recording a time of 5:55.349. No. 7 Boston won the repechage in 5:44.476. Syracuse will face No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 10 Yale, No. 15 Pennsylvania and No. 16 Gonzaga in the third-level final on Saturday at 9:21 a.m.
Syracuse, along with Cornell and Pennsylvania, also has alumni crews competing for the Francis Shields Bowl on Saturday.
Syracuse recorded three top-10 finishes including a sixth-place finish in the varsity eight and a seventh-place showing in the second varsity eight at the 2010 IRA Regatta. The Orange finished seventh in the Ten Eyck Team Championship with 119 points. It was SU’s best showing under nine-year head coach Dave Reishman. The varsity four placed third in its petite final and 10th overall. The freshmen eight boat won the third level final and finished 13th overall
Syracuse has won 27 IRA championships. Six of those titles have been won by varsity eight boats, the last in 1978. The Orange freshmen eight won three consecutive titles from 1976-78. From 1952-1992, the regatta was held on the home water of the Orange, Onondaga Lake. The race had to be moved in 1993 due to flooding, but returned in 1994. It had been held in Camden since 1995, but was moved to Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. for one season in 2009. The regatta has also been held on the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, Saratoga Lake, the Ohio River and Cayuga Lake.