June 3, 2005

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - All three of No. 2 California's boats that raced on Friday qualified for Saturday's finals at the IRA championships on the Cooper River. As a result, the Golden Bears will have four crews racing for national championships - the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Freshman Eight and Open Four with Cox.

The Varsity Eight, however, may have the toughest task as Cal will be seeded in lane six after finishing third in its semifinal heat. With just under 500 meters to go, the Bears were running even for the lead with Washington when one of Cal's crewmen lost control of his oar, a mistake that set the boat back about eight seconds. The Bears recovered to claim the third position, thus securing the last spot in the grand final.

Washington crossed the line first in 6:00.26, followed by Boston University (6:03.65) and Cal (6:03.99). Stanford trailed by more than three seconds in its bid to overtake the Bears, finishing fourth in 6:06.59.

"Yes, we are in the finals, but we have to give it everything we've got," said head coach Steve Gladstone, who noted that the prevailing winds on the course are most disruptive to boats in the outer lanes. "It shows you how fragile this is. When you have the opportunity to win it, you have to seize it. It's not over."

Cal's other two crews racing Friday - the Second Varsity Eight and Freshman Eight - both produced the day's fastest times in their divisions.

The Bears' Second Eight covered the 2000-meter course in 6:02.27, over a second ahead of Wisconsin (6:03.57), and more than four seconds faster than Cornell (6:06.87), which captured the other semifinal heat.

Cal's Freshman Eight, which remains undefeated on the season and is the defensive national champion, cruised to a nine-second win in its heat, going 6:14.05 to runner-up Penn's 6:23.19.

The Bears' Varsity Four won its heat Thursday and advanced directly to the finals.

Men's Rowing
IRA Championships
Cooper River, Cherry Hill, NJ

Freshman Eight Semifinals
Heat 1 - 1. California 6:14.05 (Alex Francis, coxswain; Charlie Smith, Stroke; Colin Foe-Parker, 7; Greg Mason, 6; Max Wyatt, 5; Jan Tize, 4; Gordon Getsinger, 3; David Naughton, 2; Marko Marjanovich, Bow), 2. Penn 6:23.19, 3. Princeton 6:23.54, 4. Brown 6:25.25, 5. Northeastern 6:33.33, 6. Yale 6:42.21. Heat 2 - 1. Washington 6:14.96, 2. Harvard 6:16.35, 3. Boston U. 6:24.61, 4. Navy 6:28.93, 5. Cornell 6:35.49, 6. Virginia 6:50.42

Second Varsity Eight Semifinals
Heat 1 - 1. California 6:02.27 (Tim O'Connell, coxswain; Ivan Smiljanic Stroke; Deglan McEachern, 7; Matt Carmody, 6; Peter Frings, 5; Elliot Hovey, 4; Jordan Mikes, 3; Toby Smith, 2; Graham Watts, Bow), 2. Wisconsin 6:03.57, 3. Northeastern 6:12.17, 4. Princeton 6:16.3, 5. Penn 6:29.98, 6. Syracuse 6:34.49. Heat 2 -- 1. Cornell 6:06.87, 2. Yale 6:09.25, 3. Washington 6:10.37, 4. Boston U. 6:15.15, 5. Harvard 6:16.19, 6. Navy 6:20.79.

Varsity Eight Semifinals
Heat 1 - 1. Washington 6:00.26, 2. Boston U. 6:03.65, 3. California 6:03.99 (Brian Schroeder, coxswain; Rory Tuttle Stroke; Elliot Bertinetti, 7; Daniel Casaca, 6; Milan Bruncvik, 5; Marko Knezevic, 4; Vaclav Vochaska, 3; Troy Kepper, 2; Eric Hand, Bow), 4. Stanford 6:07.59, 5. Yale 6:15.91, 6. Oregon St 6:16.81. Heat 2 - 1. Harvard 5:51.77, 2. Princeton 5:51.96, 3. Northeastern 6:06.29, 4. Navy 6:11.19, 5. Brown 6:15.67, 6. Michigan 6:22.85.

Places 1-2-3 in each semifinal advance to grand final