Syracuse’s varsity 8 places 5th in IRA Grand Finals
Molly Gibbs | Senior Staff Photographer
The Orange varsity 8 finished in fifth place at the IRA Grand Finals with a time of 5:38.17.
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse men’s rowing completed its season at the IRA Championships at Mercer Lake, New Jersey this past weekend. SU’s varsity 8 matched its results from last year, finishing fifth in the Grand Final. It tied the best finish in coach Dave Reischman’s 21-year SU career.
In the heats round on Friday, the Orange’s varsity 8 was the first to get in the water. The No. 5 crew finished second at 5:40:98, behind No. 4 Washington at 5:37.43, propelling SU to Saturday’s semifinals.
The second varsity 8 unit also took part in the heats round and finished second at 5:47.31 to qualify for the semifinals. The third varsity 8 raced next to place third overall. In Friday’s final race, Syracuse finished 14th in the V4+ time trial. Its time of 6:30.41 advanced the Orange to the semifinals.
On Saturday, the Orange had their varsity 8, 2V8, 3V8 and varsity 4 competing in semifinal races.
The varsity 8 advanced to the Grand Final with a third-place finish. The Orange placed behind No. 3 Princeton and No. 2 Yale.
The 2V8 boat finished fourth in the semifinals, sending it to Sunday’s Petite Finals. The 3V8 also booked its ticket to the semifinals with a fourth-place finish.
For the varsity 4 crew, Saturday’s race was its championship. After leading the race early on, SU’s unit finished second in its heat at 7:12.38. Boston University finished the heat first at 7:10.09.
On Sunday, the second and third varsity 8 units raced in the Petite Finals while the varsity 8 took part in the Grand Final.
In the 3V8 race, the Orange finished second place at 5:53.93, just 2.2 seconds behind Princeton. The Orange’s 3V8 unit finished eight overall on the season.
The 2V8 finished third in the championship race. Its time of 5:48.69 was behind first-place Princeton (5:45.11) and Boston (5:45.64). Overall, the unit finished ninth in the country, joining the 3V8 group with another top-10 finish.
In the Grand Final, Syracuse’s varsity 8 finished with a time of 5:38.17, taking fifth place. No. 1 California finished first at 5:31.72, followed by No. 4 Washington at 5:32.96, No. 3 Princeton at 5:34.88 and No. 2 Yale at 5:36.95.
Published on June 4, 2023 at 3:07 pm
Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32
