Sacramento, Calif. – Two Harvard
heavyweight boats advanced directly to the grand finals, while the
varsity eight won its heat to move on to the semifinals in the
first day of action at the 107th IRA National Championships on Lake
Natoma Thursday.
Third-seeded Harvard
joined No. 1 California, No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Washington as
winners of their heats in the varsity eight and move on to the
semifinals tomorrow morning. Boston University, Brown,
Cornell and Wisconsin also advanced directly to the semis with
their second-place showings.
Brown jumped out early
and gained a three-seat lead over the Crimson in third heat. The
Bears increased its advantage to six seats by the 500 meter mark.
Harvard held off Syracuse who was gaining on both crews. With the
move, the Crimson cut into the Bears lead and pulled even halfway
through the race. Harvard and Brown increased its pace to 37
strokes per minute and moved away from the Orangemen. The Crimson
made a huge push with 200 meters to go, rowing as high as 43, and
took a two-seat lead with 50 meters remaining and held that
position thru the finish line. Harvard completed the 2,000 meter
course in 5:54.20, Brown clocked in at 5:56.18, while Syracuse was
third in 6:05.18. Only top-seed California had a faster time than
the Crimson. The Golden Bears finished in 5:51.50.
The freshman eight
recovered from a slow start to win its heat and advance directly to
the Saturday's grand final. Navy took an early lead in the
race with California and Harvard trailing. California pulled away
and the Crimson followed as both crews put a length of distance
between them and the field halfway through the race. The Crimson
used several moves during the second 1,000 meters to cut into the
Golden Bears lead. With 250 meters to go, the Crimson was a third
of a length back but pressed, rowing at 39, to pull even with Cal
and then took the lead with just under 50 meters left to row.
Harvard held on for the win, clocking in at 6:01.8. The Golden
Bears came in at 6:04.10, followed by Syracuse at 6:11.10. Only
Washington had a faster time, completing the court in 5:58.10. The
grand final will take place Saturday at 1 p.m. (EST).
The Crimson won the
varsity four, holding off Yale at the finish line. Florida
Institute of Technology and Yale battled it out over the first
1,000 meters before Harvard used a strong push throughout the
middle of the course to gain on the leaders. The Crimson was less
than a second behind the Yale with 500 meters to go and used a
strong finish to move into the lead. Harvard clocked in at 6:54.50,
followed by the Bulldogs in 6:56.53 and FIT in 7:01.71. The Crimson
will compete in the grand final scheduled for Saturday at 12:24
p.m. (EST).
In the second varsity
eight, where the winner advanced to Saturday's grand final,
the Crimson finished second behind Washington in its morning heat.
Washington led from start to finish, while the Crimson battled with
Stanford early on for the second position. The Huskies continued to
move away from the field, while the Crimson increased the gap
between it and the Cardinal. By the 1,000 meter mark, the Crimson
held a three-quarter length lead over Stanford, but was too far
behind the Huskies to make up ground. Harvard finished in 6:04.32,
while the Huskies crossed the line in 5:57.84. The Crimson will
race in the repechage Friday morning with the winner moving on to
the grand final.
Harvard's open
four was fifth in its heat with a time of 7:05.02. Navy and
Washington pulled away from the field early, while Princeton,
Syracuse and Harvard had to play catch up. The Crimson battled with
the Orangemen and Tigers for the third spot, but was held off at
the finish line. Harvard will race in the repechage Friday morning
with the winner moving on to the grand final.
Racing gets underway at
11 a.m. (EST) with the women's lightweight eight heats. Harvard
will begin action with the repechages for the open
fours.
