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Men’s crew ‘mdash; It has been a record-breaking year for the Tritons. UCSD trained since the fall with an ultimate goal in mind: qualify for the prestigious Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the national championship equivalent for rowing. Now, after a second-place finish at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, that dream becomes a reality as the Tritons make their first-ever appearance at the IRAs from June 4 to June 7 at Lake Natoma in Sacramento.
‘It is a great honor for all of us to be a part of something so special,’ sophomore Justin Gordon said of the IRA Championships. ‘Not only do we get to compete against the best collegiate crews in America, but we’re now part of UCSD crew history.’
In April’s San Diego Crew Classic, UCSD was labeled the underdog. Although they were seeded lower than teams they had beaten earlier in the season, the Tritons immediately squashed preconceptions by taking top honors. The varsity eight squad’s first-place finish earned it a spot in next year’s Copley Cup and asserted UCSD as one of the premier units in collegiate rowing. Their top-25 ranking from the U.S. Rowing Collegiate National Polls all season long positioned the Tritons among rowing’s national elite.
At the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships earlier in May, UCSD finished third despite only entering five boats. Gonzaga University haunts the Tritons, inching ahead of UCSD in several races. In the Grand Final, the varsity eight boat snatched a silver medal for their second-place photo finish.
‘Going into [that race] we knew Gonzaga was going to be fast,’ Gordon said. ‘It had been more than a month since we had seen them, so we really didn’t know what sorts of strides they had taken in the interim. We now know how fast they are and what we have to shoot for ‘mdash; one second over the course of six minutes. The IRAs are an opportunity for us to take our fastest boat and see how it directly stacks up against well-established rowing powerhouses. Knowing that how we train will be directly correlated with our national standing is all the motivation we need to push ourselves harder everyday on and off the water.’
Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States, and the East Coast Ivies have a well rooted rapport with the pastime. This year however, the West Coast will be hosting the 107th IRA Championships.
UCSD’s varsity eight squad will consist of senior co-captain Ryan Andre, junior Karam Badran, senior Jeff Collett, sophomore Kris Grey, junior Andrew Hilton, junior Jay Dee Morgan, sophomore Michael Verdone (moving up from the second varsity eight boat), junior coxswain Cameran Biltucci and Gordon.
The freshman eight will include Joey Frank, Austin Lopez, Kellen Mandehr, Morgan, Billy Scherba, Zach Sharfman, Erik Smith, Ed Yragui and coxswain Anthony Nguyen.
UCSD will also have a varsity four boat, consisting of senior co-captain Jonathan Lynch, sophomore Justin Hsu, sophomore Jonathan Seibert, senior Michael Sullivan and senior coxswain Vanessa Garret.
‘UCSD is really an up-and-coming program on the national level,’ Gordon said. ‘During this transformation process everybody on the team plays a role in molding what the program will look like in the following years.’
After an already successful season, the Tritons hope to make strides toward a bright future in UCSD rowing this weekend.
Readers can contact Brianna Lee at [email protected].