Varsity Four Captures Bronze, 2V and 3V Advance to Grand Finals on Day Two of IRAs

Saturday, June 3

West Windsor, N.J.

Dartmouth College

IRA National Championship

Men's Heavyweight Varsity Four rowing at IRA Nationals

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Varsity Four Captures Bronze, 2V and 3V Advance to Grand Finals on Day Two of IRAs

6/3/2023 2:59:00 PM | Men's Heavyweight Rowing

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The Big Green earned a medal for the third straight year and will compete for two more on Sunday

By: Justin Lafleur

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing team enjoyed another strong showing on day two of the IRA National Championship on Saturday, with the Big Green's Varsity Four capturing a bronze medal while the Second and Third Varsity Eights qualified for Sunday morning's grand finals. The Varsity Four made a late push to take third and make it three straight years with at least one medal for Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing.

The Varsity Eight began the day by finishing fifth in its semifinal; the Big Green will row in the petite final on Sunday, looking to finish seventh overall.

"I'm obviously disappointed for the Varsity Eight," said Wyatt Allen, Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men's Heavyweight Rowing. "I think they paid the price for racing the rep yesterday afternoon in that heat, but that's the progression and it can be brutal. But as far as the rest of the team, to have the 2V, 3V in the A final, and have the Varsity Four win a medal in come-from-behind fashion, makes it a really incredible team day.

"I'm proud of the group," Allen continued. "We had some changes that happened earlier last week with an injury in our top boat and it impacted all the crews. I'm proud of the way they rallied, I'm proud of the way the coaching staff rallied and the job they did with their crews."

Gallery: (6-3-2023) June 3, 2023 IRA Nationals Day Two

To begin the morning, the Big Green's Varsity Eight posted a time of 6:19.178, good for fifth place in its semifinal. The Second Varsity Eight followed by posting a time of 6:20.629 to place third in its semifinal, just over three seconds ahead of Princeton in third (6:23.661). It was an impressive turnaround from Eastern Sprints, which saw the Tigers finish nearly four seconds ahead of the Big Green in the grand final.

The Third Varsity Eight continued the success by cruising to a top-three finish and a spot in the grand final. Dartmouth's time of 6:43.336 was behind Harvard (6:33.312) and Brown (6:36.410), but more than nine seconds ahead of Syracuse in fourth (6:52.640).

The last race of the day for the Big Green was the Varsity Four, which saw Dartmouth hovering between third and fifth for most of the race. As the boats came down to the final moments, the Big Green made a late push for third, beating Florida Tech by just over a second (7:07.869 compared to 7:09.011). Dartmouth was just over a second behind Temple in second (7:06.789) and only three seconds behind California in first (7:04.781).

With 500 meters left, the Men's Heavyweight Varsity Four was in fifth place. Then, this happened to capture 🥉 and make it three straight years with a medal at the IRA National Championship for the heavyweight team!

The 2V and 3V row in the grand finals Sunday!#GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/EIIk2NJWA4
— Dartmouth Athletics (@dartmouthsports) June 3, 2023

"That crew did some side-by-side racing during selections, but once they were selected, they trained in a vacuum for a week," said Allen. "That's really challenging because you're having to push yourself in a time trial format. Incredible that they got top six in the time trial and with the semifinal being canceled, today in the final was really the first time they had lined up multiple boats across in a cox four together.

"To see them respond the way they did when they were down, to see them stick together and row through to get a medal is really a testament to that group."

The coxswain of the crew was Jessna Brar. Tom Thomas was in the stroke seat, Will Kalikman in the two seat, Oscar Lee in three and Ollie Ellis in bow.

The Big Green wrap up the IRA National Championship on Sunday with three crews in action. The Third Varsity Eight grand final is set for 9:04 a.m. with the Second Varsity Eight grand final set for 9:28 and Varsity Eight petite final at 10 a.m.

After going more than a decade without qualifying a boat into the grand finals, Dartmouth has done so each of the last three years.

Results

Varsity Eight
Semifinal 1
1. California – 6:02.434
2. Washington – 6:04.640
3. Northeastern – 6:05.934
4. Harvard – 6:06.802
5. Dartmouth – 6:19.178
6. Pennsylvania – 6:34.362

Second Varsity Eight
Semifinal 2
1. Washington – 6:15.581
2. Harvard – 6:18.297
3. Dartmouth – 6:20.629
4. Princeton – 6:23.661
5. Northeastern – 6:34.351
6. Boston University – 6:46.955

Third Varsity Eight
Semifinal 1
1. Harvard – 6:33.312
2. Brown – 6:36.410
3. Dartmouth – 6:43.336
4. Syracuse – 6:52.640
5. Northeastern – 7:03.324
6. Pennsylvania – 7:11.532

Varsity Four
Grand Final
1. California – 7:04.781
2. Temple – 7:06.78
3. Dartmouth – 7:07.869
4. FIT – 7:09.011
5. Navy – 7:11.161
6. Northeastern – 7:21.413