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Syracuse’s varsity 8 was looking for its fourth straight appearance in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Grand Final.

The varsity 8 created a late surge in the AB semifinal, beating out No. 7 Penn by just 2.246 seconds, securing its place in the Grand Final. SU finished with a time of 5:34.341 and clinched the third spot, falling to No. 6 Harvard and No. 4 California.

On the first day of the IRA National Championship, No. 8 Syracuse finished second in heat 1 of the Men’s Collegiate Varsity 8+ with a time of 5:38.761. The Orange and No. 9 Dartmouth came head-to-head again in the race, with the Orange beating out Dartmouth by 0.563 seconds to clinch the spot.

No. 1 Washington placed first with a time of 5:36.984. Washington, Syracuse and Dartmouth all qualified for the AB semifinal.

The second varsity 8 finished second in the third heat of the Men’s 2nd Collegiate Varsity 8+, only behind No. 3 California. No. 6 Syracuse was 3.513 seconds behind the Golden Bears and 4.094 seconds over No. 11 Boston University, securing a spot in the AB semifinal.

The third varsity 8 booked its place in the AB semifinal after placing third in the first heat of the Men’s varsity 3rd 8+, finishing behind No. 1 Washington and No. 9 BU. The Orange clocked in at 6:02.647.

The varsity 4 qualified for one of the six semifinals, with Syracuse earning a time of 6:15.293, the tenth-best among all accepted varsity 4’s in a time trial. The top 18 teams qualify for the semifinals.

Later in the day, SU’s varsity 4 (6:19.107) finished third and missed out on the A final by 0.767 seconds. The Orange advanced to the Petite final, losing to FIT and Brown.

Day two of the IRAs was filled with semifinal races plus a final for the varsity 4. The varsity 8 clinched its spot in the Grand Final, but no other SU boat reached those same heights.

After a great start, the second varsity 8 couldn’t hold its position and ended up placing fifth with a time of 5:50.293, 10.314 seconds behind winner No. 2 Princeton. SU will compete in the Petite Final for the Men’s 2nd Collegiate varsity 8+ on Sunday.

The third varsity 8 repeated the same feat as the second varsity 8. No. 1 Washington controlled the race from the jump. A late Orange push was not enough to catch up to No. 7 Brown and No. 6 Dartmouth for a qualification place for the Grand Final, finishing fifth with a time of 5:48.151.

Both crews made the Petite Final last year, finishing ninth and eighth.

The varsity 4 finished out the day with the Petite Final of the Men’s Varsity 4+. SU finished in last with a time of 6:36.791, 7.95 seconds behind winner Yale, earning it 12th place at IRAs in the varsity 4. The Orange finished 14th last year.

Published on June 1, 2024 at 3:15 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu