Men’s Heavyweight Rowing Eager for IRA National Rowing Championship This Weekend

Friday, June 2

West Windsor, N.J.

Dartmouth College

IRA National Championship

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Men’s Heavyweight Rowing Eager for IRA National Rowing Championship This Weekend

6/1/2023 11:00:00 AM | Men's Heavyweight Rowing

Racing Schedule with Seed Assignments (PDF)Watch Live on YouTube Live Results

The Big Green are vying for a second straight top-five finish

By: Justin Lafleur

HANOVER, N.H. — After capturing three medals at the Eastern Sprints and seeing all five of its boats reach the grand finals, the Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing team is ready for the IRA National Regatta this Friday through Sunday at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey. Finishing fifth in the nation last year, the Big Green are poised to be in the mix this season as well, in what is a competitive field from top-to-bottom.

"It has been our goal to be a top five program year in and year out," said Wyatt Allen, Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men's Heavyweight Rowing. "We've been there for the past two years and we're in range of that again this year. We're in a very competitive field."

To learn more about the racing, including schedule, watch live links and more, please click here.

An impressive field of crews was on display at Eastern Sprints, which saw Dartmouth's Fifth Varsity Eight win gold, Fourth Varsity Eight win silver and Third Varsity Eight win bronze. The Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight each advanced to grand finals. The Varsity Eight came in fifth with a time of 5:28.673, ahead of Brown and just five seconds behind first-place Yale. The Second Varsity Eight placed sixth with a time of 5:39.288, less than six seconds behind first-place Harvard (5:33.550).

"Our 1V and 2V lineups didn't finish as high as we were shooting for at sprints, but it was still a good team performance, and we've had a good couple weeks coming out of that," said Allen. "We've changed some of the lineups around, we feel like we've found a little bit more speed and we're looking forward to testing that."

Ever since Eastern Sprints, the Big Green are taking advantage of nearly three weeks on the water to put themselves in the best possible position heading into IRAs.

"The focus has been using every practice we can to get a little bit better and search for speed, and the group has done a really good job of maintaining that focus and having real purpose of every practice every time we've had an opportunity to put the shells in the water and go out for a row," said Allen.

As a team, Dartmouth was ranked eighth in the final IRCA/IRA Men's Collegiate Rowing poll of the season (with the 1V and 2V both standing No. 8 in their individual polls) and has consistently been in the top five this season. There's no reason the Big Green can't once again be in the mix at or near the top five at IRAs.

Over the years, Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing has enjoyed a number of strong seasons, but consistency is a goal of Allen and the Big Green.

"In terms of years of making the final and being top five, this would be a historic performance to go there and do it again," he said. "We're trying to build a program that consistently competes with the top teams in the country."

The Big Green know it's in them to have a great season, but they also know it won't be easy.

"The goal for all of our crews first and foremost is to make it into the grand final, which means you're in the top six of your event," said Allen. "That can be a challenging road. You can make it by advancing directly from the heat to the semi-final. Some crews might have to go through the repechage, which is a second-chance pathway to the semi. Whatever the path, our student-athletes are excited for the challenge and the test."