RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's Varsity 8 crew posted its fastest time of the 111th Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship Regatta in Saturday's semifinal on Lake Natoma outside of Sacramento.
Rowing in the third of four semis, UCSD placed sixth with a time of 6:11.21. Penn won the race in 5:54.68 and was trailed by Georgetown (5:56.28), Oregon State (5:59.78), Dartmouth (6:02.07), Holy Cross (6:05.82) and the Tritons.
UCSD's Varsity 8 will conclude IRA competition in Sunday's fourth-level final at 11:45 a.m. (PT). Also in the race will be Dartmouth, Drexel, Gonzaga and Holy Cross.
UCSD's semifinal time was much-improved from its efforts a day earlier. The Tritons were almost five seconds faster than their repechage time (6:16.04) and more than 10 seconds better than their pace in Friday's heat race (6:21.71).
The Tritons' Varsity 8 is comprised of Zach Antunes, Zack Attaran, Mark Bennett, John Buda, coxswain Sean Dougherty, Scott Kennedy, Brendan Stainfield, Forrest Sundquist and Kyle Wilson.
Three other Varsity 8 finals will be contested Sunday. In the grand final will be Brown, Cal, Harvard, Northeastern, Princeton and Washington. The petit final will feature Boston University, Cornell, Navy, Stanford, Wisconsin and Yale, while the third-level final will have Florida Tech, George Washington, Georgetown, Oregon State, Penn and Syracuse.
The Tritons' JV 8 boat of coxswain Kasey Benjamin, Austin Dahlenburg, Tom Forter, Erik Goebel, Jason Heinen, Daniel Mahan, Jack Maxson, Kendall Pick and Chris Weir will race in the third-level final Sunday at 10:04 a.m. The field will also include Dartmouth, Gonzaga, Holy Cross, Navy, Oregon State and Stanford.
UCSD is competing at the IRA Championships for the third time in program history (2009, 2011).
The 2013 IRA Championship Regatta can be followed by live video.
2013 IRA Championship Regatta
Lake Natoma
Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Saturday, June 1
Varsity 8 Semifinal One
1. Washington 5:40.74
2. Cal 5:42.32
3. Princeton 5:44.06
4. Stanford 5:48.20
5. Navy 5:51.91
6. Wisconsin 5:52.89
Varsity 8 Semfinal Two
1. Harvard 5:42.91
2. Northeastern 5:44.02
3. Brown 5:45.81
4. Yale 5:48.70
5. Cornell 5:50.21
6. Boston University 5:50.54
Varsity 8 Semifinal Three
1. Penn 5:54.68
2. Georgetown 5:56.28
3. Oregon State 5:59.78
4. Dartmouth 6:02.07
5. Holy Cross 6:05.82
6. UCSD 6:11.21
Varsity 8 Semifinal Four
1. George Washington 5:58.43
2. Syracuse 5:59.60
3. Florida Tech 6:00.50
4. Drexel 6:03.94
5. Gonzaga 6:10.79
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Sunday, June 2
JV 8 Third-Level Final, 10:04 a.m.
Varsity 8 Fourth-Level Final, 11:45 a.m.
-- UCSDtritons.com --
