June 6, 2009

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The Oregon State men's rowing team concluded its 2009 season with a ninth place finish in the Open 4+, and 16th place in both the Varsity 8+ and Freshman 8+ divisions at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Saturday.

The Third Level Finals of the V8+ was tightly contested from the start, with 17-seeded Princeton taking an early lead, and the remaining five crews in a close battle for second. It took 16-seed Oregon State until the 1000 meter mark to climb from sixth place, overtaking San Diego (No. 22) and setting its sights on fourth place Gonzaga (19). The Beavers continued to gain on the field in the final 500 meters, overtaking the Bulldogs and crossing the line fourth. By virtue of their result in the Third Level Finals, the Oregon State V8+ earned a 16th place overall finish in the varsity division.

"I think we ended up right about the best we could do," said head coach Steve Todd. "The guys tried their hardest and got the result we were meant to get."

In the O4+ Petite Finals, Cornell was able to take an early lead, while George Washington, Oregon State, and Harvard all battled for second. The Beavers slipped into fourth place at the 1000 meter mark, but stormed back over the final 500 meters to overtake the Colonials for third. The result gives the Beavers O4+ a ninth place overall finish in their division.

In Oregon State's first race of the day, the F8+ took on five crews in the Third Level Finals. All crews were within 3.35 seconds of each other after the first 500 meters, with the 15-seeded Beavers in third place. OSU slipped to fifth at the 1000 meter mark, but shot past UC San Diego (18) and Gonzaga (16) to retake third headed in to the final 500 meters. As it crossed the finish line, Oregon State found themselves in fourth place, just 0.75 seconds behind second place Boston (13) and 0.18 behind third place Gonzaga. The result gave the Beavers' F8+ a 16th place finish overall.

"For us to have the IRA Championships out on the west cost was a great opportunity for our guys and west coast rowing as a whole," Coach Todd said. "Seeing schools like UC San Diego, Gonzaga, and San Diego come in and do well against the east coast schools was great to see and says a lot about the state of rowing on the west coast."

Todd is optimistic about the Beavers' ability to come back strong next season. "This team went through a lot of ups and downs. The guys that stuck with it showed we can be a good team. We have a lot of work to do to be even better next year."

For more information, including links to split times and official results of all races, go to row2k.com. Check back with osubeavers.com for more information on Oregon State rowing.

Results
Varsity 8+ - Third Level Final
1. Princeton 6:07.35
2. Navy 6:10.97
3. George Washington 6:13.22
4. Oregon State 6:14.51
5. Gonzaga 6:15.73
6. San Diego 6:23.53

Freshman 8+ - Third Level Final
1. MIT 6:08.50
2. Boston 6:10.62
3. Gonzaga 6:11.19
4. Oregon State 6:11.37
5. UC San Diego 6:16.48
6. George Washington 6:26.35

Open 4+ - Petite Final
1. Cornell 6:54.32
2. Harvard 7:04.11
3. Oregon State 7:09.00
4. George Washington 7:10.56

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