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WATCH | EYEBRONCO: Michael Brewer Talks Men's Rowing — IRA Championships
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara men's rowing concludes its 50th anniversary season at the 113th Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships this weekend. The Bronco Varsity 8 boat, made up of six freshmen and two sophomores, will take part in the three-day event alongside Santa Clara's Varsity 4 boat May 29-31 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
Santa Clara's Varsity 8 boat represents one of five west coast programs in a field of 24 boats and the Varsity 4 boat represents one of four west coast programs in a field of 23 boats.
"At the outset of this year, we made a point of the importance of continuing to build on the successes of this program," head coach Jay Farwell said. "At our initial team meeting, we overemphasized the importance of qualifying for the IRA Regatta. It has been a benchmark for the program for a very long time and was not achieved until this spring."
LINEUPS
Varsity 8: 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
"The Varsity 8 lineup has not changed from the Western Sprints. I believe that our Varsity 8 will be the youngest in that category with six freshmen and two sophomores along with a freshman coxswain," Farwell said. "It will be great experience for this group and will hopefully translate into further success for the years to come.
"I can't say enough about this team and its ability to stay focused on the big picture. We had some rough patches along the way but no one lost sight of the primary goal, which was IRA qualifying. It has been tremendously rewarding for the guys to see their efforts pay off and we are looking forward to the opportunity to line up against the best in the country. "
Varsity 4: Coxswain - Madyson Wanner, Eric Timken, Patrick Doyle, Mark Belford, Everett Peters
RACE SCHEDULE
Varsity 8: Santa Clara's Varsity 8 boat races in the first heat of the IRA Championships at 8 a.m. Friday. The Broncos are slotted for lane 6 and match up against Florida Institute of Technology (lane 1), Navy (2), four-time defending national champion Washington (3), Boston (4) and Oregon State (5). Non-automatic qualifiers will have the chance to advance in one of four repechages beginning at 2 p.m. Friday. Semifinal races are scheduled for Saturday and the Varsity 8 Grand Final is the last race of the event at 12:36 p.m. Sunday.
Varsity 4: Santa Clara's Varsity 4 boat races in the second Varsity 4 heat of the IRA Championships at 11:24 a.m. Friday. The Broncos are slotted for lane 5 and match up against Drexel (lane 1), George Washington (2), Georgetown (3), Cornell (4) and Northeastern (6). Non-automatic qualifiers will have the chance to advance in one of four repechages beginning at 4 p.m. Friday. Semifinal races are scheduled for Saturday and the Varsity 4 Grand Final is set for 9:12 a.m. Sunday.
"We will have our work cut out for us — no question about it," Farwell said. "The top-level crews at the IRAs have world-class speed and it will be interesting to see how our team competes at this level. We have nothing to lose so we are going to go out there and see what type of speed we can generate."
COACH FARWELL ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
"This has been a historic year for the program. Fifty years ago, 22 undergraduates and their coaches embarked on a journey that has paved the way for our success this year. We have celebrated the 1965 crew at various events culminating with the 50th anniversary celebration and the induction of the Varsity 8 and their coaches to the Santa Clara Athletics Hall of Fame."
