On to the Semifinals

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – In a busy opening day for Stanford men's rowing at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Friday at Lake Natoma, all three of the Cardinal's entries moved on to the C/D Semifinals.
 
The varsity eight, ranked No. 13 in the latest USRowing Collegiate poll, placed third in its heat Friday morning and finished second in its repechage in the afternoon to move into Saturday's C/D final at 8:24 a.m. PT. The Cardinal missed a berth in the A/B Semifinal by one spot.

"We had a challenging time today in the repechage races this afternoon," Stanford men's rowing head coach Craig Amerkhanian said. "We strive to move forward tomorrow with energized racing with each of our boats."
 
The second varsity eight and third varsity eight each placed fifth in its heat race Friday morning, with the second varsity eight finishing second in its repechage and the third varsity eight placing fifth in its repechage in the afternoon. Both boats will race in the C/D Semifinal on Saturday at 9:12 a.m. PT and 9:36 a.m. PT, respectively.
 
Fans can follow Saturday's action online with the USRowing Live Stream here.
 
During the morning varsity eight heat race, Stanford was level with Wisconsin for third early on. The two crews set their sights on Princeton and Harvard for the coveted spot straight into the A/B Semifinal. The Cardinal and Badgers both took water away from the second-place Tigers as they entered the second half of the course. Harvard (5:38.088) captured the heat, while Princeton (5:41.198) was able to hold off the hard-charging Cardinal and Badgers at the finish. Stanford and Wisconsin battled for most of the course for the third position, with the Cardinal (5:45.240) edging the Badgers (5:45.615) by a deck at the finish line.
 

Varsity eight takes third in its @IRARowingChamps heat. pic.twitter.com/E4TRbpt2dq

— Stanford Mens Rowing (@stanfordmrowing) June 2, 2017

In the afternoon varsity eight repechage, Stanford battled Penn throughout the course as the two fought for the final spot in the A/B Semifinal. The Quakers held off the Cardinal at the finish as Stanford finished with a time of 5:58.104 to Penn's time of 5:53.184.
 
The Cardinal second varsity eight finished fifth in its Friday morning heat. With California, Northeastern and Pennsylvania out in front, Stanford tried to maneuver its way through the field. The Cardinal pulled within two seats of Cornell for fourth place just past the midpoint of the course, finishing a length back of the Big Red (5:56.809) at the finish with a time of 6:01.090.
 
In its repechage, the second varsity eight found itself in the third position behind Dartmouth and Syracuse through the first 500 meters. The Cardinal quickly took water away from Syracuse and moved past the Orange by the middle of the course. Stanford next set its sights on Dartmouth and the final spot in the A/B Semifinal, pulling within a length of the Big Green over the final 1,000 meters. Dartmouth (6:03.291) held off Stanford (6:06.430) by three seconds, however, to earn the A/B Semifinal berth.
 
By the slimmest of margins, the third varsity eight finished fifth in its Friday morning heat to move to the afternoon's repechage. With Washington, Navy and Northeastern leading the field, Stanford and St. Joseph's were level for fourth place as the boats headed towards the finish line. St. Joseph's edged the Cardinal by less than a deck at the finish with the two boats separated by seven-one-thousandths of a second (6:07.243 - 6:07.250).

This is what a 0.007 second difference looks like with Stanford and St. Joseph's in the @IRARowingChamps 3V8 heat pic.twitter.com/32D33IwwKJ

— Stanford Mens Rowing (@stanfordmrowing) June 2, 2017

 
In its repechage in the afternoon, the Cardinal placed fifth with a time of 6:17.789 to move on to Saturday's C/D Semifinals.

 

IRA Championships Results