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Syracuse University
IRA Regatta
Orange Concludes Season at IRA
6/1/2011 10:00:23 AM | Men's Rowing
Lineups | Race Central | Schedule
The Syracuse University men's rowing team concludes its 2011 season at the 109th IRA Regatta, June 2-4, on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J. The event, which serves as the national championship in collegiate men's rowing, features two dozen crews from across the country. Live video of all three days is available here.
The seventh-seeded varsity eight is one of 18 crews competing for the Varsity Challenge Cup. The Orange is in Heat No. 1 which is set to launch at 8 a.m. Syracuse will battle top-ranked Washington, No. 6 Brown, No. 12 Stanford, No. 13 Cornell and No. 18 Gonzaga. The top two will move directly to the semifinals on Friday, with the rest of the field going to one of the two repechage heats on Thursday at 2 or 2:15 p.m.
Syracuse's second varsity eight, seeded fifth, is one of 15 entries gunning for the Kennedy Challenge Cup. The Orange is in Heat No. 2 which is set to begin at 9 a.m. SU will take on No. 2 Harvard, No. 8 Yale, No. 11 Dartmouth and No. 14 California-San Diego. The top three will move directly to the semifinals on Friday, with the rest of the field going to one repechage heat on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
SU's freshman eight is one of 17 crews competing for the Stewards Cup. The 11th-seeded Orange is in Heat No. 2, which starts at 9:45 a.m. Syracuse will face No. 2 Harvard, No. 5 Navy, No. 8 Brown, No. 14 Dartmouth and No. 17 UCSD. The top two will move directly to the semifinals on Friday, with the rest of the field going to one of the two repechage heats on Thursday at 2:45 or 3 p.m.
The Orange is also one of the 19 crews in the varsity four. Syracuse will race against Harvard, Boston, Pennsylvania and Brown in Heat No. 1 at 10:45 a.m. The top two will move directly to the semifinals on Friday, with the rest of the field going to one of the two repechage heats on Thursday at 3:15 or 3:30 p.m.
Syracuse, along with Cornell and Pennsylvania, also has alumni crews competing for the Francis Shields Bowl.
Syracuse recorded three top-10 finishes including a sixth-place finish in the varsity eight and a seventh-place showing in the second varsity eight at the 2010 IRA Regatta. The Orange finished seventh in the Ten Eyck Team Championship with 119 points. It was SU's best showing under nine-year head coach Dave Reishman. The varsity four placed third in its petite final and 10th overall. The freshmen eight boat won the third level final and finished 13th overall
Syracuse has won 27 IRA championships. Six of those titles have been won by varsity eight boats, the last in 1978. The Orange freshmen eight won three consecutive titles from 1976-78. From 1952-1992, the regatta was held on the home water of the Orange, Onondaga Lake. The race had to be moved in 1993 due to flooding, but returned in 1994. It had been held in Camden since 1995, but was moved to Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. for one season in 2009. The regatta has also been held on the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, Saratoga Lake, the Ohio River and Cayuga Lake.
