On Friday, May 30, UC San Diego men’s rowing took on Day 1 of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s National Championship Regatta in Cooper River, New Jersey. This weekend marked the Tritons’ eighth consecutive appearance in the championship meet, where they fielded two varsity eight boats against 23 of the nation’s best teams. The Tritons came into the championship after wrapping up a successful performance at Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Rowing Championship, where the first varsity eight team took first place and the second team took fourth in the petite final. Freshman coxswain Vahram Tchakmakjian steered the Tritons’ first boat, and freshman coxswain Estella Zeppelin manned the second.
The first day of the championship ended with both Triton teams finishing last in their heats. The first varsity eight team finished in 06:03.95, and the second team finished in 05:59.97. Despite keeping Oregon State at bay early in the race, the first team fell to last place. The second team was neck and neck with Georgetown for most of the race but was ultimately overtaken in the final stretch. The disappointing performances meant that neither qualified for the AB semifinals and would be duking it out in their respective CD semifinals.
Day 2 of the championship was a different story; the Tritons found their rhythm and turned things around. After kicking off the race head-to-head with Georgetown, the Tritons’ first team was able to snag fifth place out of sixth with a time of 05:53.12, beating out Gonzaga. UCSD’s second team put on a stellar performance, starting off the race side by side with Cornell and Temple. The Tritons held off the other teams, ultimately taking third, rounding out the regatta with a final time of 05:48.04. The second team’s top-3 performance was enough to give it a spot in the C final the next day, while the first team competed in the division’s D final.
On the final day of the championship, the Tritons’ second team had a powerful start to the first half of the C final race. After a bit of back and forth with Navy, the Tritons took last place with a final time of 05:59.13. Immediately afterward, the Tritons’ first varsity eight team took to the water. Despite a slow start, the Tritons managed to keep Gonzaga behind them, ending in fifth place with a time of 05:46.64 — their fastest time of the weekend. Finishing in 22nd place overall, UCSD men’s rowing’s 2024-25 underwhelming season came to a close.
