Photos by Zach Franzen/KLC
The Bears won their second straight IRA national championship and 19th overall.
WEST WINDSOR, NJ, — The No. 1 California Golden Bears repeated as the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national champions as the varsity eight won their grand final at Mercer Lake on Sunday morning. The title marks the 19th for the program, second for Cal’s head coach. scott franksen (2022, 23) and is the 103rd all-time national championship for Cal Athletics. Additionally, the Bears swept trophies in all four events for the first time in program history on their way to winning the James Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy, awarded to the team’s overall point winner, for the first time since 2016. Cal finished with 288 points. , a perfect score by Ten Eyck.
It also marked the first time Cal had won back-to-back national titles since winning four in a row from 1999-2002.
“What a wonderful day and week for the team,” Frandsen said. “For the last two years, the main idea has been to build the deepest, best team that we can. And what a statement of that today. All boats win, that’s a credit to all the guys that competed today.” And when there was pressure and they needed their best race, each and every one of the boats put it together. It’s also a credit to the 25 or so guys who are back on campus or at home who aren’t here. They have been pushing for that to happen. depth throughout the team, so this is just an amazing day for the crews that raced and a statement for the team as a whole.”
In the race for the Varsity Challenge Cup, Cal was in front early and took a two-seat lead over Yale by 500 meters. At halfway, the Bears’ lead quickly grew to almost its entire length over Washington, who ranked second. Cal continued to push and build a slight open water lead in the final 750 meters, but Washington dropped back a few seats. In the end, the Bears’ pace proved too strong and they were able to finish just over a second ahead of the Huskies in 05:31.716 to clinch the national championship.
“The varsity eight are the big show and the group I had the most confidence in. They are a special group,” Frandsen said. It has been a great honor and a privilege to train and guide them. But there was so much trust in that team that no matter what happened during the race, they took control, pushed it. They joined in their movements and took control of the race. In that third 500 meters and going into the fourth 500 meters, when Washington fell back on them, very clearly together, they pushed back and decided they were going to win the race. We talked before about a question at that time, we have to be the toughest and most united team. And I think they really went and did that. I am very proud of them and proud of the whole team.”
In the battle for the Kennedy Challenge Cup, Cal’s second varsity team got off to a strong start and didn’t look back. The Bears took a half dribble lead in the first 250 yards, extended it to full length by 500 yards, and held their lead at 1,000 yards. Cal didn’t slack off or give anyone a chance to move up, and he was able to control the entire race, finishing three seconds clear of Washington in a time of 5:39.600.
“The second varsity team just had an absolutely perfect run,” Frandsen said. “They came out quick and dominated early on and just completely controlled the race. I’m very proud of those guys for coming back to perform under pressure. I’m very happy for everyone in that boat. There are some guys like fred roperElliott Kemp and balthazar issa that they’ve been working towards it for three or four years, and for them to get that result in their last race for Cal, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
In the race for the Steward Cup, the Bears’ third varsity team turned out in exciting fashion. The race was fairly even from the start, but Cal and Washington took an early lead ahead of the field at the 500-meter mark. The Bears took a three-seat lead over the Huskies into the second 500 meters. Harvard then made a push to move up to second in the third 500 meters and was only four seats behind Cal. The Bears held their lead with 750 meters to go, but Harvard made another surge to tie with 500 meters remaining. It was anyone’s race at that point, but Cal put in a big effort in the last 10 shots to hold on for the win, less than a second over Harvard, in 5:42.220.
“For the third varsity team, it was about building every time we went out there and raising the bar,” Cal’s assistant coach said. Brandon Shald saying. “Throughout the season, each day got a little better and I preached to the guys that it’s all about trying your hardest on the last day. It’s like a fireworks display for the season and this was the grand finale. All through the season the season we ran the first 1,000 meters with a focus on power and pace, so we have a chance to run the last 1,000 and say it’s time to go. I think they did everything they had to do that day. It was the first time We had, from start to finish, exactly what we needed that day, and I think the result shows that.”
The Bears’ varsity four won the Eric Will Trophy on Saturday.
cal by the numbers
103 – Total national championships for Cal Athletics
19 – IRA National Championships
17 – Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Championships
3 – IRA National Championships for scott franksen (assistant coach in 2016)
3 – Trophies in memory of James Ten Eyck
Results
Grand Finale V8+
1. California – 05:31.716
2.Washington – 05:32.960
3.Princeton – 05:34.882
4.Yale – 05:36.954
5. Syracuse – 05:38.172
6. Northeast – 05:43.180
Grand Finale 2V8+
1. California – 05:39.600
2.Washington – 05:42.070
3.Yale-05:42.310
4.Harvard – 05:45.410
5. Dart’s Mouth – 05:48.870
6. Brown – 05:50.790
Grand Finale 3V8+
1. California – 05:42.220
2.Harvard – 05:42.600
3.Washington – 05:47.130
4. Mouth of Dart – 5:50.390
5.Yale-05:52.210
6. Brown – 05:54.540
Grand Finale V4+ (from Saturday)
1. California – 07:04.781
2. Temple – 07:06.789
3. Dart’s Mouth – 07:07.869
4. ADJUSTMENT – 07:09.011
5. Navy – 07:11.161
6. Northeast – 07:21.413
lineups
V8+
helmsman – luca scallop
Stroke – iwan hadfield
7 – angus dawson
6 – Tim Roth
5 – ollie maclean
4 – Genaro di Mauro
3 – gus rodriguez
2 – Frederick Breuer
Bow – campbell squats
2V8+
helmsman – Iliad Izadi
Stroke – tommy barrel
7 – elliott kemp
6 – tobias kristensen
5 – fred roper
4 – balthazar issa
3 – matthew gallagher
2 – daton wolfaardt
Bow – wilson morton
3V8+
helmsman – Ethan Nghiem
Stroke – dan bradbury
7 – keith ryan
6 – Alex Baroni
5 – Matthew Waddell
4 – Thomas Herding
3 – Luciano Andréuccetti
2 – tyler kurth
Bow – pablo moreno
4V+
helmsman – savannah adam
4 – Bret Holt
3 – harry shawl
2 – henry furrer
1 – Joshua Anderson
STAY POSTED
For more information on Cal’s men’s rowing, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMrowing), Instagram (@calmrowing) and Facebook (Cal Crew).
