Varsity Four Qualifies For Semifinals At IRA National Championship

CAMDEN, N.J. – The Holy Cross men's rowing team competed in the first day of competition at the 110th Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., on Thursday. The varsity four qualified for the semifinals on Friday, June 1 by placing first in the repachage after finishing fourth in its opening heat.

The Crusaders placed fourth out of five boats in their opening heat as the top three boats from each of the three opening heats qualified directly for the semifinals, while the rest of the teams moved to the repechage. Washington won the heat with a time of 6:37.997, followed by Brown (6:43.0.76), Yale (6:44.470), Holy Cross (6:48.090) and Temple (6:48.948). The Crusaders then finished first out of four boats in the repechage as the top three qualified for the semifinals. The Crusaders won the race with a time of 6:31.214, followed by Temple (6:35.365), Boston University (6:44.286) and Dartmouth (6:55.474).

"This morning, we had a great start in the heat but failed to put together a complete 2000m race and finished a disappointing fourth," said head coach Todd Pearson. "This put us in the position of needing to qualify for the semifinals out of the afternoon repechage. We made a few changes to our race strategy and the athletes raced really well in the afternoon. Not only did they earn a spot in tomorrow's semifinal, but did so in convincing fashion by winning the race. Hopefully this gives us some confidence as we prepare to race for a spot in the grand final."

The Crusaders will race in the semifinals on Friday at either 10:00 a.m. or 10:15 a.m. Each race will have six boats with the top three advancing to the grand finals on Saturday, June 2, at 9:10 a.m. and the next three moving on to the petite finals at 8:55 a.m.

Holy Cross varsity four: Peter Prominski, Anthony Curro, Jordan Traub, Pat Rapuano, Eddie Ryan (coxswain).