May 29, 1998

CAMDEN, N.J. - The Cal men's varsity eight advanced to the Grand Final at the IRA National Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, NJ, May 29. By virtue of its second place finish to Princeton in today's semifinal, the Bears join Washington, Princeton, Penn, Northeastern and Georgetown in a 2000-meter sprint for the national championship.

"We are one of six crew in a race for the national championship tomorrow," said coach Steve Gladstone. "All of the preparation we have done has been geared toward this race."

The varsity got off the line well and established itself as one of the frontrunners along with Princeton and Penn. At the 800 meter mark Princeton clearly surged into the lead while the Bears began to moved ahead of Penn. As the top three crews would qualify for the final, there was little change in position over the final 1000 meters. In the most exciting race of the day, the Cal freshman eight advanced to the grand final.

The Bears got off to a good start and moved ahead of the strong field which included Brown, Wisconsin and Rutgers, among others. With 500 to go the Bears led Brown by a length. The excitement occurred in the final 10 strokes in the race. Cal caught an over-the-head crab which all but stopped the shell in the water. Quick thinking by coxswain Franco Arieta kept the Bears undefeated season alive as he instructed his oarsmen to continue rowing with only seven men. The frosh limped across the line holding on to a 0.3 second win. The freshmen will race Washington, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown and Wisconsin in the grand final Saturday.

The Cal JV eights bid for a national championship came to an end this morning in the repechage. Cal was pitted against the Brown JV crew that finished in second place at the Eastern Sprints on May 17. Both crews separated themselves from the field in the first 500 meters and it became clear that it was a two boat race for the one grand final-qualifying spot. Cal's JV led by four seats at the 1000, but were unable to put any more distance between itself and Brown. Over the second 1000 meters, Brown methodically moved back through the Bears, increasing its lead with each stroke. At the finish, Cal found itself behind by 4.1 seconds.

The Cal Bears will race Oregon State, Virginia, Temple, Michigan and Syracuse in the petite final to determine the 7-12 place finishing order on Saturday. The Golden Bear open four continued its run at the IRA winning its semifinal and advancing to the Saturday's grand final. The Bears jumped out to an early lead over Wisconsin-B and George Mason-A, controlling the race all the way down the 2000-meter course. Cal will race those two crews again along with the Fordham, Princeton, and Wisconsin-A crews that qualified for the final from semifinal 2.

JV Eight Repechage Results      
Friday Morning--Top Finisher to Grand Final Saturday         
Rep 1--9:48 AM     
Lane 
1   Penn    5:53.2
2   Oregon St.  5:56.1
3   Virginia    5:56.6
4   Cornell 5:59.7
5   Northeastern    6:03.9
6   Empty   
        
Rep 2--10:00 AM     
Lane 
1   Navy    5:50.3
2   Temple  5:51.9
3   Michigan    5:55.0
4   Boston Univ.    5:55.3
5   Dartmouth   6:05.5
6   Empty   
        
Rep 3--10:12 AM     
Lane 
1   Brown   5:43.8
2   California  5:47.9
3   Syracuse    5:57.7
4   Drexel  5:57.9
5   Rutgers 6:07.3
6   Empty   
        
        
Varsity Eight Semifinal Results     
Friday Afternoon--Top Three Finishers to Grand Final Saturday        
Semi 1--2:12 PM        
Place 
1   Princeton   5:32.4
2   California  5:34.7
3   Penn    5:38.4
4   Wisconsin   5:42.9
5   Boston Univ.    5:44.9
6   Navy    5:45.2
        
Semi 2--2:24 PM     
Place 
1   Washington  5:35.8
2   Georgetown  5:37.5
3   Northeastern    5:37.8
4   Brown   5:41.4
5   Temple  5:44.1
6   New Hampshire   5:56.0
        
Frosh Eight Semifinal Schedule      
Friday Afternoon--Top Three Finishers to Grand Final Saturday        
Semi 1--1:36 PM        
Place 
1   California  5:48.1
2   Brown   5:48.4
3   Wisconsin   5:49.9
4   Rutgers 5:50.3
5   Cornell 5:54.8
6   Columbia    5:56.0
        
Semi 2--1:48 PM     
Place 
1   Washington  5:46.1
2   Princeton   5:50.7
3   Dartmouth   5:54.0
4   Penn    5:57.8
5   Syracuse    5:58.0
6   Orange Coast    5:58.3
        
Open Four Semifinal Results     
Friday Morning--Top Three Finishers to Grand Final Saturday      
Semi 1--11:12 AM       
Place 
1   California  6:40.7
2   Wisconsin-B 6:44.8
3   George Mason-A  6:48.8
4   UCSB    6:51.7
5   Syracuse-A  7:02.4
6   Minnesota   7:05.1
        
Semi 2--11:24 AM        
Place 
1   Fordham 6:34.6
2   Princeton   6:38.4
3   Wisconsin-A 6:38.5
4   Georgetown-B    6:42.8
5   Navy    6:44.3
6   Northeastern    7:04.5
        
        
Saturday Racing Schedule        
        
Men's Open Four     
Grand Final--10:30 AM       
Lane 1  Wisconsin-A 
2   Princeton   
3   California  
4   Fordham 
5   Wisconsin B 
6   George Mason A  
        
Men's Freshman Eight        
Grand Final--1:15 PM        
Lane 1  Wisconsin 
2   Brown   
3   Washington  
4   California  
5   Princeton   
6   Dartmouth   
        
Men's JV Eight      
Petite Final--2:00 PM       
Lane 1  Michigan    
2   Virginia    
3   Oregon State    
4   Temple  
5   California 

 

    
Grand Final--4:30 PM        
Lane 1  Penn    
2   Georgetown  
3   Princeton   
4   Washington  
5   California  
6   Northeastern