May 31, 2013
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GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The Stanford men's rowing I Eight advanced to the IRA Championships semifinal round while the II Eight was edged out of a semifinal spot Friday at Lake Natoma.
The I Eight will row in one of two semifinals Saturday, with the race times set for 12 p.m. and 12:15 p.m. The II Eight will race in the Third-Level Final for places 13-16 Sunday at 10:04 a.m.
"We are pleased to be in the semifinals and racing for a spot in the National Championship finals on Sunday," said Stanford head coach Craig Amerkhanian. "Our goals are alive and the challenge is before us. We will bring the mantra of Stanford Men's Rowing to the starting line: iron will, impeccable technique and Cardinal power."
The I Eight was off first among the two boats Friday, qualifying for Saturday's semifinals with a second-place finish in the fourth preliminary heat. The Cardinal battled its way down the course in the lead pack with Northeastern and Wisconsin, surging for the automatic semifinal berths afforded to the top two boats. While Northeastern would manage to pull away enough to claim a 3.5-second win, Stanford would outmuscle Wisconsin to the line for second in a time of 5:51.025, just over one second ahead of the Badgers.
In the II Eight's heat, the Cardinal faced off against Ivy League competition Harvard, Princeton and Penn in a four-boat race. Princeton would pull away for a six-second win over the field, while the Cardinal would end up fourth in a time of 6:12.658, eight seconds out of the second qualifying spot.
The boat would return to the water in the afternoon, facing Dartmouth, Gonzaga, Syracuse, UC San Diego and Yale in the repechage, with the top two finishers earning semifinal berths. The Cardinal were off the line strong, staying within a length of Yale and Syracuse through the first 1,000 meters of the race. But Syracuse and Yale would continue pulling away, with the Orange taking first in 6:05.235 and the Bulldogs coming in less than a second behind. Stanford crossed third in 6:14.915.
Stanford Boat Lineups
I Eight
Austin Hack
Oivind Lorentzen
Nico Cserepy
Dave Dolben
Kaess Smit
Jason Lupatkin
Will Faulkner
Scott Roycroft
Cox: Nathalie Weiss
II Eight
Andrew Gyenis
Seth Hildick-Smith
Reed Thayer
Ben Chuter
Ben Weems
Cole Johnson
Robbie Ostrow
Will Robins
Cox: Greg Wolk