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Brown University
IRA National Championships - Day 2
No. 9 Men's Crew Sends Two Boats to Grand Finals at 2026 IRA National Championship Regatta
5/30/2026 5:44:00 PM | Men's Crew
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - On what turned out to be one of the most competitive days of racing during their spring schedule, the No. 9 Brown men's crew sent two boats to the Grand Finals on Sunday morning in races that required photo finishes.Â
The morning began with the Varsity Eight, coxed by Elenna Seguin and stroked by Isaac Hillicks-Tulip, racing hard in pursuit of a top three finish. The Bears stroked at a consistent pace, hanging around the back of the field through the first half of the race.
As the competition progressed, the Bears were unable to close the gap between the crews from Stanford and Penn, crossing the finish line in 5:45.960 and securing a fifth place finish. Brown's top boat will race in the Petite Final for the fourth time this decade, having won the Final in 2023 and 2024.Â
The closest race of the season belonged to the Second Varsity, pulling out all the stops to qualify for tomorrow's Grand Final. Coxed by Jack Mershon and stroked by Dom Valt, the 2V8 found itself in a heated competition for second and third place with crews from California and Yale.Â
All three programs stroked at a similar pace throughout, never being able to gain a comfortable margin as they headed to the final 500 meters. The Bruno Twenty was as important as ever today, with the 2V8 using those powerful strokes in the middle of the race to keep themselves alive for a podium finish.Â
The end of the race saw all three crews separated by less than one second, with California (5:47.480) coming in second place. With a final time of 5:48.250, Brown narrowly defeated Ivy League rival Yale (5:48.270) to claim the third place and the final spot in the 2V8 Grand Final.
The Third Varsity, coxed by Rahul Ramakrishnan and stroked by Fraser Burdett, had an almost identical race as their Second Varsity teammates. The Bears, Princeton Tigers, and Dartmouth Big Green, were all vying for second and third place finishes that would send them to the Grand Final.Â
The first 1,500 meters were tight, with all three crews within one second of each other. Princeton crossed the finish line with a time of 5:48.240, good enough for second place. With the national championship hopes of each boat hanging on every stroke, the Bears crossed the finish line in 5:49.110, edging out Dartmouth (5:49.180) for a trip to Sunday's Grand Final.
The Varsity Four competed in the C Final today, winning the event with a final time of 6:43.000. Coxed by Adelaide Poulson and stroked by Reed Lucke, the V4 was able to pull away with hard and heavy strokes from most of the field.Â
St. Joseph's rowed stroke for stroke with the Bears, in what looked to be the third consecutive photo finish of the day for Bruno. With strong technique and a patented late push, Brown was able to defeat the Hawks by 0.150 seconds.Â
FULL LINEUPS AND RESULTS
Varsity Eight AB Semifinal
California - 5:36.950
Harvard - 5:37.910
Stanford - 5:41.770
Penn - 5:42.890
Brown - 5:45.960
Boston University - 5:50.130
B: Jack cadwallader
2: David Person
3: Tristan Green
4: Davis Kelly
5: Isaac Thurnham
6: Tom Griffin
7: Nick Gaensler
S: Isaac Hillicks-Tulip
C: Elenna Seguin
Second Varsity AB Semifinal
Washington - 5:45.420
California - 5:47.480
Brown - 5:48.250
Yale - 5:48.270
Northeastern - 5:52.620
Cornell - 5:56.870
B: Christian LawrenceÂ
2: Sean Egan
3: Luca Cassina
4: Eddie Andrews
5: Owen McKenna
6: Gordy Gibbons
7: Mees du Croo de Jongh
S: Dom Valt
C: Jack Mershon
Third Varsity AB Semifinal
California - 5:47.310
Princeton - 5:48.240
Brown - 5:49.110
Dartmouth - 5:49.180
Boston University - 5:56.360
Stanford - 5:57.410
B: Cole Matlack
2: Morgan Haisman
3: Max Willott
4: Henry Davison
5: Ryan Jorgensen
6: Uros Bogdanov
7: Charlie Hall
S: Fraser Burdett
C: Rahul Ramakrishnan
Varsity Four C FinalÂ
Brown - 6:43.000
St. Josephs - 6:43.150
Colgate - 6:46.860
FIT - 6:47.540
Stetson - 6:48.870
San Diego - 6:49.220
B: Andy Chefetz
2: Tilden Vaezi
3: Symeon Efstathiou
S: Reed Lucke
C: Adelaide Poulson
SUNDAY RACE SCHEDULEÂ
Third Varsity Grand Final - 9:46 a.m. PDT
Lane 1: CaliforniaÂ
Lane 2: Harvard
Lane 3: Princeton
Lane 4: Washington
Lane 5: Brown
Lane 6: Yale
Second Varsity Grand Final - 11:08 a.m. PDT
Lane 1: Washington
Lane 2: Princeton
Lane 3: California
Lane 4: Harvard
Lane 5: Brown
Lane 6: SyracuseÂ
Varsity Eight Petite Final - 11:56 a.m. PDT
Lane 1: NortheasternÂ
Lane 2: Penn
Lane 3: Syracuse
Lane 4: Brown
Lane 5: Yale
Lane 6: Boston UniversityÂ
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