WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — Santa Clara men's rowing capped its 51st season by making its second straight trip to the IRA National Championship Regatta last weekend. The Bronco Varsity 8+ boat placed 21st and the Varsity 4+ boat placed 25th against the best crews in the country.
"I thought that our guys did a great job of handling all that comes along with traveling across the country to compete for the national championship," head coach Jay Farwell said. "It is not an easy trip especially when you add it the fact that each of them were working hard off the water to prepare for their academic finals.
Each boat's best result came in its final race. The Varsity 4 boat captured the 5th Final on Saturday and the Varsity 8 boat took third place in the 4th Final on Sunday.
"We gained a great deal of experience this trip with the Varsity 8 participating for the second year in a row with a number of those guys competing from last year's boat," Farwell said. "We also got three freshmen and two sophomores their first races at this level of competition."
IRA Sunday Results
Varsity 8+ 4th Final: 6:05.54 (3rd of 6, 21st of 24 overall)
Saturday Results
Varsity 4+ 5th Final: 6:51.30 (1st of 4, 25th of 28 overall)
V8+ Semifinal 3: 5:52.31 (5th of 6)
Friday Results
Heats: V8+ 6:08.93 (6th of 6) | V4+ 7:07.86 (7th of 7)
Repêchages: V8+ 6:03.74 (4th of 4) | V4+ 7:02.44 (6th of 6)
"It is eye-opening for these guys; this is a completely different level of competition and we look to our guys who made the trip to use this trip to motivate them and the rest of the team for next year," Farwell said.
Varsity 8+ Lineup
Grace Anne D'Amico (cox), Michael Brewer, Grant Findlay, Peter Morton, Patrick Doyle, Thatcher Bouck, Ian Crutchlow, James Martino, Chris Szigeti (One senior, two juniors, five sophomores, one freshman)
Varsity 4+ Lineup
Drew Del Toro (cox), Max Clemence, Ethan Drapac, Nick Cisneros, Matt Rote (One junior, two sophomores, two freshmen)
"Patrick was a member of the first freshman class when I returned to the program," Farwell said. "There were a number of freshmen that year but Patrick has been the only member of that class for the last two years. Patrick was a true walk-on with no rowing experience and worked really hard — through some injuries as well — to make his way into the top boat. I can't say enough about his commitment to this team and the University, he is an outstanding young man with a very bright future and we wish him all the best.
This season, the Bronco V8+ crew captured the first WIRA Championship in program history and won the Western Sprints Regatta in wire-to-wire fashion; the latter clinched the team's second straight IRA appearance. Bronco boats won 17 races across all levels. Farwell was named WIRA Coach of the Year while sophomore Peter Morton and freshman Grant Findlay were named First Team All-WIRA.
"Our team continues to progress well and we continue to attract talented student-athletes to Santa Clara University," Farwell said. "The coaching staff is looking forward to our incoming class and getting the crew back to work in September. We want to thank our alumni, family and friends, the Athletics Department and this great University for all of their support this year."
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