Racing in a field that featured Cal, Columbia, Brown, Navy and Princeton, the Tritons fell behind early and never recovered, recording a final time of 6:08.236. They finished nearly 12 seconds behind fifth-place Columbia. Cal took the semifinal win with an impressive time of 5:39.898, followed by Princeton (5:44.794) in second place and Brown (5:47.506) in third.

The top-three boats will advance to the grand final and compete for a national title on Saturday, while UCSD, Navy and Columbia are placed in the petite final to determine seventh through 12th place in the overall novice eight event.

"It was rough today with the wind blowing us around a lot," head coach Zach Johnson said following the conclusion of the race. "We went with a new race plan and there are definitely some corrections that can be made."

UCSD will be part of three separate races on the third and final day of the IRA Championships on Saturday. The varsity eight and junior varsity eight will race in their respective third-level finals, while the novice eight will take part the petite final. Races are scheduled for between 4:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. PST.

"In the finals tomorrow, our focus will be to try and take out a couple teams," Johnson added. "We will target a few crews beforehand, but hope to place in front of some that we never have before."

Friday's Novice Eight Semifinal Results

Men's Novice Eight Semifinal 1
1. Harvard - 5:39.284
2. Washington - 5:39.619
3. BU - 5:47.629
4. Cornell - 5:52.749
5. Stanford - 5:53.084
6. Dartmouth - 6:03.553

Men's Novice Eight Semifinal 2
1. California - 5:39.898
2. Princeton - 5:44.794
3. Brown - 5:47.506
4. Navy - 5:52.593
5. Columbia - 5:56.807
6. UCSD - 6:08.236