June 2, 2011
CHERRY HILL, N.J. - Facing adverse conditions, Stanford men's rowing persevered to advance all three of its boats (I Eight, Frosh Eight, Four) into Friday's semifinals at the IRA Championships in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Friday's semifinals are set to begin at 7 a.m. for the Four, 8:15 a.m. for the Frosh Eight and 9:15 a.m. for the I Eight. All times listed are Pacific Standard Time.
"Rowing in 25-mile-per-hour winds is not routine. Today all three crews advanced by rowing aggressively in less than optimum conditions," said Stanford men's rowing head coach Craig Amerkhanian. "The Stanford varsity eight won the afternoon rep while the four and frosh also advanced to Friday's semifinals by finishing second. All three boats raced with zeal. It was the effort put forth by each crew member that made the difference"
The I Eight took fourth place in its morning qualifying heat, crossing the line with a time of 5:42.949. With only the top two boats in the heat getting berths in the semifinals, the Cardinal was forced into a second-chance race in the afternoon for a semifinal spot.
Needing a top-three finish in its afternoon repechage, the Cardinal took first with a time of 5:38.000 to book its spot into Friday's semifinal round. There, Stanford will race in the second semifinal, facing off against Yale, Wisconsin, Harvard, Washington and Georgetown.
The Frosh Eight began the regatta with a fourth-place finish in its qualifying heat as well, turning in a time of 5:51.690. In the afternoon's repechage, the Cardinal needed to finish in the top three of its race, and did just that, taking second with a time of 5:49.713, two seconds faster than the fourth-place boat from Yale.
The Frosh Eight will race in Friday's first semifinal, matching up with Cornell, Harvard, Washington, Boston University and Dartmouth.
In the Four's morning qualifying heat, the Cardinal finished fourth out of five boats with a time of 6:44.042. In the afternoon repechage, only the top two boats in each of the two races would get into the semifinals. Even with the slimmer margin for error, the Cardinal battled its way to a second-place finish in the second repechage race, crossing the line in 6:22.989 to claim the final semifinal berth by nearly four seconds.