With the school year winding down and just a few teams left competing for a championship, the UC San Diego men’s rowing team looks to wrap up its season on top at Intercollegiate Rowing Association Nationals. The Tritons sent three varsity boats across the country to Princeton, New Jersey on the waters of Mercer Lake for a three-day event.

On day one, UCSD’s Varsity 8 squad finished sixth in its heat with a time of 6:09.04. Led by freshman coxswain Kelsey Hirota, the Tritons came in fourth in repechage 1 behind Boston University, Cornell University, and Florida Institute of Technology, placing a time of 5:51.65. Fellow UC campus Berkeley earned a 5:40.19 finish to position them in first in all opening heat rounds.

The Tritons second varsity eight, made up of two freshman, two sophomores, three juniors, and a senior, placed fifth in heat 3 recording a 6:09.69 finish and fourth in repechage 1 in 6 minutes and 11.22 seconds. Syracuse University won repechage 1 with a time of 5:46.02 while Washington University acquired the overall best heat time with a striking 5:44.20.

In the opening heat and repechage 1, UCSD’s third varsity eight came in fifth place in both races documenting times of 6:20.41 and 6:10.38, respectively. The repechage time put the Tritons above Temple University, Saint Joseph’s University, and FIT. Again, Washington’s program captured the best heat time at 5:52.05.

Day two included races from the Tritons varsity eight in semifinal three and the second varsity eight in semifinal four. UCSD’s varsity eight, consisting of one freshman, three sophomores, two juniors, and two seniors, crossed the finish line at 6:14.54 to put them in sixth place. The second varsity eight established a 6:19.50 marker that earned them a fifth-place finish behind Navy’s first-place time of 5:58.32.  

Although not the preferred results for any Triton boat, all three crews will have an opportunity to improve in the final races beginning early Sunday morning.