SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? UC San Diego men's crew began competition in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships for the first time in program history on Thursday.  The Tritons finished fifth in their heat of the varsity eight and sixth in their freshman eight and varsity four heats, as the IRA Championships originated from the West Coast for the first-time in history. 

Temperatures at Lake Natoma were nearly 50 degrees lower than during the recent Pac-10 Challenge, and racers also encountered a strong cross headwind.  Washington, seeded fifth entering the IRA Championships, emerged victorious from the second heat, followed by Wisconsin, as both schools cruised into the semi-finals.  UCSD finished fifth in the heat with a time of 6:17.54, ahead of Holy Cross and behind George Washington and Navy.

"I felt the first race went very well,” said head coach Zach Johnson. “We had a good rhythm."

The freshman eight also took part in a heat dominated by Washington, as the UW frosh eight built up an open water lead by the 500 gone mark.  Despite competing against a Husky crew that includes a 2008 Olympian and a U-23 member in their mid-20s, the Tritons placed sixth and finished with a time of 6:30.271.  UCSD's varsity four with coxswain recorded a time of 7:24.847 to also finish sixth in their heat, while the varsity eight put together a time of 6:19.731 in the fourth heat of the repechage, used to determine placing for crews not advancing directly to the semi-finals.

"Today turned out to be what we expected and we look forward to tomorrow,” said Johnson.

The Tritons will continue action as part of the 107th IRA Regatta tomorrow at Lake Natoma, with competition concluding Saturday.