Syracuse’s varsity 8 places 5th in IRA Grand Finals
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Syracuse men’s rowing completed its season at the IRA Championships at Mercer Lake, New Jersey this past weekend. SU’s varsity 8 matched its results from last year, finishing fifth in the Grand Final. It tied the best finish in coach Dave Reischman’s 21-year SU career.
In the heats round on Friday, the Orange’s varsity 8 was the first to get in the water. The No. 5 crew finished second at 5:40:98, behind No. 4 Washington at 5:37.43, propelling SU to Saturday’s semifinals.
The second varsity 8 unit also took part in the heats round and finished second at 5:47.31 to qualify for the semifinals. The third varsity 8 raced next to place third overall. In Friday’s final race, Syracuse finished 14th in the V4+ time trial. Its time of 6:30.41 advanced the Orange to the semifinals.
On Saturday, the Orange had their varsity 8, 2V8, 3V8 and varsity 4 competing in semifinal races.
The varsity 8 advanced to the Grand Final with a third-place finish. The Orange placed behind No. 3 Princeton and No. 2 Yale.
The 2V8 boat finished fourth in the semifinals, sending it to Sunday’s Petite Finals. The 3V8 also booked its ticket to the semifinals with a fourth-place finish.
For the varsity 4 crew, Saturday’s race was its championship. After leading the race early on, SU’s unit finished second in its heat at 7:12.38. Boston University finished the heat first at 7:10.09.
On Sunday, the second and third varsity 8 units raced in the Petite Finals while the varsity 8 took part in the Grand Final.
In the 3V8 race, the Orange finished second place at 5:53.93, just 2.2 seconds behind Princeton. The Orange’s 3V8 unit finished eight overall on the season.
The 2V8 finished third in the championship race. Its time of 5:48.69 was behind first-place Princeton (5:45.11) and Boston (5:45.64). Overall, the unit finished ninth in the country, joining the 3V8 group with another top-10 finish.
In the Grand Final, Syracuse’s varsity 8 finished with a time of 5:38.17, taking fifth place. No. 1 California finished first at 5:31.72, followed by No. 4 Washington at 5:32.96, No. 3 Princeton at 5:34.88 and No. 2 Yale at 5:36.95.
