FOLSOM, Calif. — Santa Clara men's rowing earned a spot in the IRA National Championship Regatta by way of a second-place finish from its Varsity 8 boat at Saturday's Western Sprints Regatta on Lake Natoma. The Broncos completed the 2,000-meter race in 6:20.50, just one second behind the winning boat from Oklahoma City University.
The 50th-anniversary season of the Bronco program marks the first time it will send a Varsity 8 boat to the national championship. Santa Clara's Freshman 4 boat qualified for IRAs in 2002 and its Varsity 4 boat won a bronze medal at IRAs in 1991.
"I can't say enough about the guys in the boat," head coach Jay Farwell said. "They knew this was a big moment for the program and they got the job done.
"In light of our program celebrating the 50th year of rowing at Santa Clara, there is even more significance with this year's effort. The undefeated crew of 1965 was inducted into the [Santa Clara Athletics] Hall of Fame Friday night and it provided a lot of inspiration for the team."
VARSITY 8
Santa Clara's Varsity 8 boat entered the five-team race as the No. 3 seed with the top two finishers receiving a bid to the national championship. The Broncos finished in second place by 3.9 seconds in a field separated by a total of 6.8 seconds.
"The race was very tight through the 1,250-meter mark — we expected it to be five across at this point in the race and we were really focused on the last 750," Farwell said. "Our coxswain Grace Anne D'Amico did a great job keeping the guys in the moment and focused on the race plan."
RESULTS/BRONCO LINEUP
|
1. Oklahoma City |
6:19.50 |
|
2. Santa Clara |
6:20.50 |
|
3. San Diego |
6:24.40 |
|
4. UC San Diego |
6:24.90 |
|
5. Gonzaga |
6:26.30 |
Coxswain - Grace Anne D'Amico, Stroke - Michael Brewer, 7 seat - Ian Crutchlow, 6 seat - Peter Morton, 5 seat - Chris Szigeti, 4 seat - James Martino, 3 seat - Sepehr Araghi, 2 seat - Thatcher Bouck, Bow - Zachary Zeller
"I would venture to say that we had the youngest crew in the Varsity 8 event with six freshmen and two sophomore rowers as well as a freshman coxswain," Farwell said. "This group has really done a fantastic job this year. We had a jam-packed racing schedule and I think it really paid off at Western Sprints."
2ND VARSITY 8
|
1. Gonzaga |
6:27.00 |
|
2. UC San Diego |
6:32.80 |
|
3. San Diego |
6:33.90 |
|
4. Oklahoma City |
6:35.20 |
|
5. Santa Clara |
6:48.50 |
"Although the 2nd Varsity 8 boat did not have its best race, they got some valuable racing experience that we hope will motivate them for next year," Farwell said. "It was a bittersweet race for our only senior Eric Timken who is one of our captains this year. Eric has had a terrific rowing career at Santa Clara and a great deal of what we accomplished this year is due to his leadership on and off the water."
UP NEXT
Santa Clara's Varsity 8 boat competes at the IRA National Championship Regatta May 29-31 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
"We now have an opportunity to compete at the highest level for collegiate rowing and the Varsity 8 is really looking forward to that opportunity," Farwell said.
Click Here for championship central!
GO BRONCOS!
