SACRAMENTO, Calif. — West Coast rowers know all about the winds of Lake Natoma. At the IRA National Championship Regatta Friday, scores of eastern rowers received a full dose of those winds, often to their collective detriment.
"That was a pretty strong crossing headwind from the Lane One side," Columbia head coach Mike Zimmer lamented after watching his two heavyweight eights fight the winds, as well as their opponents, in two key races. Those winds, combined with the best men's rowing talent in the nation, cost the Lions berths in Saturday's Grand Finals.
The varsity heavyweight eight, having gained a shot at the Grand Final by excelling in Thursday's Repechage, came up short in one of the regatta's most power-packed semifinals. The 10th-seeded Lions had to finish no worse than third in a field that included top-seeded Cal, third-seeded Harvard, fourth-seeded Wisconsin, seventh-seeded Boston U. and 14th-seeded Dartmouth.
Both Cal and Harvard got off to blazing starts in the semifinal, pulling away from the other four. As Boston U. and Wisconsin waged their own battle for the all-important third place, Columbia pulled away from Dartmouth and tried to stay up with the others.
Buffeted hard by the wind in their outer lane, the Lions encountered tough going. "We stayed with the leaders in the first 500 or 600 meters," Zimmer recalled, "but then the boats in the interior lanes began to slip away.
"We battled to stick with Wisconsin, but when they went with the leaders in the second 1000 meters, we could not stay with them."
Cal and Harvard remained 1-2 all the way down the 2000-meter course, although the Crimson received a scare when Boston U. closed to within one second at the end. The surprising Terriers finished third in 5:50.30, nipping Wisconsin by .4 seconds. Columbia was fifth, much closer than its reported 10-second deficit would indicate, followed by the Big Green.
"We didn't row our best," Zimmer said, "and if you don't row your 'A game', you're not going to make the Grand Final."
The second varsity also missed its chance to row in the Grand Final when it finished third in its Repechage in 6:16.20, behind Wisconsin, 6:00.14, and Stanford, 6:03.96. It would have had to beat both crews to make the Grand.
However, the Lion 2V did earn a spot in the Petite Final when its 6:16.20 proved one of the three fastest Repechage times among the non-qualifiers.
"The second varsity had a pretty good row," Zimmer said. "I'm pretty pleased with that." The second varsity is scheduled to row in its Petite Final Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. (PDT). The varsity eight competes in its Petite Final at 12 noon (PDT).
Columbia's varsity men's lightweight eight makes its Sacramento debut in the National Lightweight Championship Saturday. The Lions will be one of seven boats moving directly into the Grand Final, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (PDT).
The results:
IRA Men's National Championships Friday, June 5, 2009 Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Calif.
Varsity Eights
Semifinal 1 (top three advance to Grand Final, others to Petite Final) 1. Cal, 5:46.40 2. Harvard, 5:49.30 3. Boston U., 5:50.30 4. Wisconsin, 5:50.70 5. COLUMBIA, 6:07.80 6. Dartmouth, 6:10.00
Second Varsity Eights Repechage 1 (winner of each repechage advances to Grand Final, top three times among other crews advance to Petite Final) 1. Wisconsin, 6:00.14 2. Stanford, 6:03.96 3. COLUMBIA, 6:16.20
Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics The sun won't be setting on Columbia's heavyweights, as both varsity crews will compete in Saturday's Petite Final.
Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics
