IRA Finale

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Stanford men's rowing varsity eight placed second in its final to highlight the Cardinal's final day of racing at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Sunday at Lake Natoma.
 
Stanford, which raced three entries in the national championship regatta, placed 16th in the final team standings at the IRAs. Along with the second-place finish in the third level final by the Cardinal's top boat, Stanford's second varsity eight placed fifth in its third level final and the Cardinal third varsity eight finished fourth in its third level final.
 
"We always want to be a top-10 team and we had bigger goals for this season, but I am proud of the way our team fought in the finals today," said Stanford men's rowing head coach Craig Amerkhanian. "They kept their morale up and had good races in the finals. We will miss the seniors in our boats, but wish them all the best as they move forward in their careers."   
 
The varsity eight surged out to an early lead in its final, holding a length edge on the field over the first 500 meters. George Washington made a move and pulled level with the Cardinal just before the midpoint of the course. Stanford and GW led the field to the finish, with the Colonials (5:41.639) winning the final by a length over the Cardinal (5:44.283). Stanford finished 15th in the final varsity eight results, with Yale taking the title in the six-boat Grand Final and Northeastern winning the seven-boat Petite Final.
 

The varsity eight placed second in its @IRARowingChamps final. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/eRArRLqQDC

— Stanford Mens Rowing (@stanfordmrowing) June 5, 2017

In a very closely-contested third level final for the second varsity eight, Stanford tried to maneuver its way through the crowded field. The Cardinal moved within five seats of Wisconsin for the lead after the first 750 meters. Syracuse and Navy made a move to take second and third from Stanford near the midpoint of the course. As the boats headed towards the finish, Stanford was locked in a tight battle with Columbia for fourth. The Lions (5:56.445) edged the Cardinal (5:56.566) by the slimmest of margins at the line for fourth place as the two boats were separated by 0.121 second.
 

2V8 finishes fifth in the @IRARowingChamps third level final. pic.twitter.com/8O9xANPm88

— Stanford Mens Rowing (@stanfordmrowing) June 4, 2017

With Brown and Oregon State taking the lead in the third level final of the third varsity eight, Stanford battled George Washington for third. The Cardinal, in fourth at the midpoint of the course, moved within three seats of the Colonials for the third spot. George Washington made a move, however, to create an open-water advantage on Stanford. The Cardinal finished fourth with a time of 6:02.806.
 

3V finishes fourth in the @IRARowingChamps third level final. pic.twitter.com/wE06330uDq

— Stanford Mens Rowing (@stanfordmrowing) June 4, 2017

The IRA Championships marked the final regatta for the spring season and the final competition for the Cardinal's seven seniors – Ryan Hails, Erik Holmvik, Brendan Larkin, Ryan O'Rourke, Ardsley Sanders, Sean-Patrick Sullivan and Peter Wood. Larkin was named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May, giving the Cardinal its fourth consecutive conference scholar-athlete of the year. Stanford will return an experienced roster with a lot of promise for the Cardinal in 2018. 

IRA Championships Results