SACRAMENTO, Calif. – UC San Diego men's crew completed their first-ever appearance at Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Saturday, with the varsity four and freshman eight both competing in third level finals and the varsity eight taking part in the fourth level final. The 107th IRA Regatta, taking place for the first-time on the West Coast at Lake Natoma and in a newly scaled-down format, witnessed a near sweep by Washington University, with the Huskies coming out on top in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, freshman eight, and open four grand finals.
The Tritons first race of the day came in the third level final for the varsity four with coxswain. The team of Mike Sullivan, Jon Lynch, Justin Hsu, Jon Seibert and coxswain Vanessa Garrett rowed to a fifth-place time of 7:14.047, with other first-time California competitors University of San Diego, UC Irvine, and Santa Clara finishing 2-3-4.
The freshman eight team recorded another fifth-place finish in their third level final, beating out George Washington with a time of 6:16.483 in a race won by MIT. The freshman eight team consisted of coxswain Anthony Nguyen, Billy Scherba, Joey Frank, Nathan Morgan, Ed Yragui, Erik Smith, Austin Lopez, Kellen Mandehr and Zach Sharfman.
MIT was also victorious in the varsity eight fourth level final, an event in which UCSD closed out their season with a fourth place finish. The record-setting varsity eight group, represented at the IRA Championships by Andrew Hilton, Ryan Andre, Jay Dee Morgan, Jeff Collett, Kris Grey, Karam Badran, Mike Verdone, Justin Gordon and coxswain Cameran Biltucci, finished their year with a time of 6:23.294.
Head coach Zach Johnson took the UCSD men's crew program to new heights during the 2008-09 season. The varsity eight proved that it can compete against the top crews in the entire nation by capturing the Cal Cup for the second time in three years and securing a spot at the prestigious Copley Cup next season. The Tritons also finished third overall at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, with the varsity eight and second varsity eight each placing second at the WIRAs en route to their IRA Championship appearance.
