IRA National Championship Regatta, 2013: RR Picks and Predictions

111th IRA Regatta begins tomorrow (Photo: B. Kitch)
The 2013 IRA National Championship Regatta is set to kick off tomorrow morning, bright and early on the West Coast in Sacramento—temperatures (and anxiety levels) are high, with national titles and (perhaps even more importantly) bragging rights on the line. Here is our take on just what'll happen this weekend, when oars meet water.

Heavyweights
The 'Top Dawg' at this regatta is Washington, and for very good reason. So far this season, they haven't done anything to suggest that they've loosened their vise-grip on men's varsity rowing, with the possible exception of the varsity fours race at Pac-12s. So, we're taking the Washington Huskies to win the men's varsity eight again this year. Harvard is our pick for second place, and enter the regatta after an undefeated season and a convincing win at Sprints—the Crimson may be the only ones who can throw down a challenge to Washington this weekend. Rounding out the medals, we're looking for Brown to take third place. California, Stanford, and Northeastern will also be looking to break through and land themselves on the podium—we're giving Cal the edge here. Look for California to finish fourth, and they may give Brown a run for their money.

In the second varsity eight, again UW is the hot favorite, and has dominated this year. Cal at least made it somewhat interesting at Pac-12s, but were still five seconds off the pace when all was said and done. We're taking Cal and Brown to finish out the medals, with Harvard looking to overturn the result from Sprints and Princeton looking to make a run as well, with the Tigers having missed a Sprints title by roughly one length to Brown.

The frosh eights will be interesting to watch this weekend. Washington has been dominant, and given the depth of the Husky program and their commitment to the freshman rowing experience, we think they're likely to continue their undefeated season on Lake Natoma this weekend. Harvard is our pick for second, with Brown likely to take the bronze, again with the Golden Bears potentially making it interesting, much like the varsity eight event.

Lightweights
Harvard is coming off an undefeated season and a win at Sprints, and has an ever more talented lineup than last year's undefeated national champion varsity eight crew, with standouts Andrew Campbell and Austin Meyer back in the mix. We're looking for a repeat performance from Sprints, with a strong Yale squad taking second place, followed by Dartmouth—Big Green was characterized by a late season charge under Dan Roock, and it looks like first-year head coach Sean Healy has picked up right where Roock left off last season. Also worthy of note—Columbia has had its best season in years, and will be laying it all on the line for a chance at a medal on Lake Natoma.

Women's Lightweights
Based on the season to date, this looks like it may just be Radcliffe's time to shine. The Black and White posted a convincing victory over three-time defending IRA champion Stanford on the Charles earlier this year, and with the Cardinal having graduated three of their top athletes from the varsity eight following last year's campaign, Al Acosta's squad might not quite have the experience necessary to make it a four-peat. Then again, Stanford has entered the regatta as the underdog in each of the past three seasons—it's never safe to count them out. Third place is largely up for grabs, and will see Princeton, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Bucknell all looking to finish their seasons on the podium, but we don't see anyone catching the top two crews in this event.

Good luck to all crews! Here's to a successful 111th IRA National Championship this weekend! For live video coverage of the racing, beginning at 730am PDT tomorrow, follow this link.

-RR

Trending posts this month

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Read more

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...
Read more

So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now?

Image
Warwick rowers are all in again this year (Photo courtesy of Warwick Boat Club)  The phenomenon started four years ago with the Warwick Rowing men's squad. Then, the following year, the Warwick women's team joined the fray. Now, Newcastle University's men and women are back on the naked calendar train. So, the question is, have rowing and naked calendars become a thing? The above video features the 2014-2015 Warwick women's squad—the third edition of the calendar , and, from the looks of it, the raciest. However, perhaps not so racy as that of the 2014-2015 Warwick men (see below). But raciness aside, all four of these teams have chosen worthy charities and have gone "the full monty" to make sure that those causes have received considerable contributions. The Warwick women contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support —a cause for which Warwick reports it has donated some £5,000. The Warwick men? Sport Allies —a charity that combats homophobia in spor...
Read more

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? At Marin Rowing Association, Culture is Key

Image
Hands in after training  My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am.  It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey.  Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity.  Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles .  The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
Read more

Winter Workouts: Why Do Rowers Fear the Erg?

Image
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
Read more