Men's Crew Historical Timeline - Brown University Athletics

Brown Men’s Crew History

1857- Rowing is initiated as the first organized sport at Brown.

1859- Brown’s first intercollegiate race is held against Harvard and Yale.

1875- Brown is admitted to the Rowing Association of American Colleges.

1949- Crew at Brown is revived and is known as the Brown Rowing Association.

1961- Crew gains full varsity status.

1962- Vic Michaelson is appointed the first full-time crew coach and Brown joins the EasternAssociation of Rowing Colleges

1966- The Hunter S. Marston Boathouse is built. Brown also makes its first-ever appearance at the Royal Henley Regatta.

1970- The freshman crew wins the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship.

1971- The junior varsity wins the Eastern Sprints-Brown’s first Sprints victory.

1979- Michalson’s varsity crew captures Brown’s first-ever varsity IRA Championship.

1981- The freshman crew wins the IRA and Steve Gladstone succeeds Michalson as the headcoach at the conclusion of the season.

1983- The varsity claims its second IRA Championship.

1984- Brown’s varsity claims the Eastern Sprints and Ladies Challenge Plate in course-record timeat the Royal Henley Regatta.

1986- Varsity is IRA Champion for the third time.

1987- The varsity claims the Eastern Sprints, IRA Championship and places second at Nationals.

1988- Jon Smith ’83 and Ted Patton ’88 followed up a gold medal performance in the 1987 WorldChampionships with a bronze medal in the Seoul Olympic Games as part of the United States Olympic Eight. Smith was also named the “Oarsman of the Year” by the United States Rowing Association.

1992- For the first time in Brown history, the freshman crew are undefeated Eastern Sprints and IRA Champions. Christian Sahs ’93, Malcolm Baker ’91 and John Smith ’83 compete for the United States Olympic team in Barcelona, Spain. In addition, Xeno Muller ’96 rowed for the Swiss Olympic team and Igor Boraska ’95 made the Croation National team.

1993- The varsity goes undefeated through the dual meet season and then captures racing’s “triplecrown”-the Eastern Sprints, IRA and National Championship. The crew culminates the season atthe Royal Henley Regatta and wins the Ladies Challenge Plate.

1994- The varsity repeats its triple crown victories and the freshman crew is undefeated as well,going on to also win the Thames Cup at the Rpyal Henley Regatta. Freshman coach Scott Roopsucceeds Steve Gladstone as the head coach in August and Paul Cooke ’89 is named thefreshman coach. Jamie Koven ’95 wins the gold medal in the World Rowing Championship men’seight.

1995- Roop leads the varsity to a third consecutive IRA and National Collegiate Championship. The freshman crew capture the Eastern Sprints.

1996- Igor Boraska (Croatia), Porter Collins (USA), Jamie Koven (USA), Xeno Muller (Switzerland),Dave Simon (USA) and Nikola Stojic (Yugoslavia) compete at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Koven and Collins race in the U.S. Eight. Muller wins the gold medal in the single.

1997- The varsity and the junior varsity win silver medals at the nationals. Jamie Koven ’95, coached by Scott Roop, wins the World Championship for the United States in the single scull.

1999- The varsity and freshmen are second at the Eastern Sprints and the freshmen go on to winthe IRA, setting a new course record. Porter Collins ’98 wins a gold medal in the US Eight at the World Championships.

2000- The varsity, junior varsity and freshman crews record undefeated dual race season. The varsity and junior varsity win the Eastern Sprints while the junior varsity also wins the IRA. The varsity finished second in the nation. The varsity and junior varsity compete at Henley, with the varsity winning the Ladies’ Plate. Seven Brown Rowers compete at Sydney.

2003- Men's crew placed three of four boats in the grand finals of the Eastern Sprints championships. The varsity finished fifth, third varsity finished fifth and the freshman eight finished in fourth. The varsity also won the petite final at the IRA Championships.

2005- Both varsity squads led Brown at the Eastern Sprints by capturing gold for the Bears. Varsity eight finished fifth in the grand final while the second varsity finished fifth in the petite final. Four teams competed in petite finals at the IRA Championships with the freshman eight leading the way with a victory. The varsity finished fourth while the varsity four both with and without coxswain finished in fifth.

2006- The varsity earned a bronze medal at the Eastern Sprints, their best finish since the 2000 season. The varsity captured bronze at the IRA Championship, as well as the Chapman Award as the most improved team at the regatta. The second varsity eight finished 6th in their grand final race while the freshman eight won in the petite final.

2007- The men's varsity finished fourth in the Grand Finals of the IRA Championship while the second varsity eight finished sixth. The freshman eight recorded a second place finish. at the EARC Sprints, the freshman eight recorded a victory in the grand finals while the varsity finished 5th in the grand finals.

2008- The varsity finished second overall and captured the Ivy League title while the freshman eight recorded a third place finish. Eight members of the team earned All-Ivy Honors. The team earned a fifth place finish at the IRA Championships, led by the second varsity finishing sixth in the grand final.

2009- Capped a stellar season by sweeping all five events at the EARC Sprints, earning the Ivy-League title in the process. At the IRA Championships the Bears were led by the second varsity eight and freshman eight finishing second and third respectively. Varsity Eight took home fourth at the championships while the varsity four finished eighth overall.

2010- The varsity finished third at the EARC sprints with second varsity eight winning their Grand Final. The Bears placed three boats in the top-five nationally, highlighted by the second varsity eight winning silver. Gavin Crynes earned Academic All-Ivy after leading the team to an undefeated regular season and a fifth place finish at the IRA Championships.

2011- The varsity finished fourth at the EARC sprints, while the freshman eight finished first in the petite finals. The varsity finished fifth and the team also finished fifth at the IRA Championships. The varsity and open four boat's earned second place finishes. Rower Benn Dann '12 and coxswain Leigh Carroll '12, both members of the Brown men's crew, represented the United States at the U23 World Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Carroll was the coxswain for the women's eight who earned bronze while Dann finished 11th in the men's single competetion.

2012- Men's Varsity Eight claimed victory in the 67th EARC sprints, earning both the EARC title as well as the Ivy League title, their first since 2009. The team finished second in the nation with both the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight finishing second. Brown sent all five boats to the Grand Finals during the championships. The Bears finished second in the Grand Challenge Cup (8+) as well as a second place finish in Temple Challenge Cup (8+).

2013- The varsity finished second at the EARC sprints, while second and third varsity claimed victories. In the IRA National Championship, the varsity finished third overall while the team finished second overall in team points. The varsity four finished third in the grand finals while the freshman eight and second varsity finished second overall.

2014- The varsity took silver at Eastern Sprints, while the third varsity and freshmen eight both claimed gold, and the Bears tied with Harvard for first place in the team point standings. The varsity then claimed second place at the IRA Championship and Brown was one of just three schools to advance five boats to the grand finals. Brown registered four total medals, including silver by the varsity eight and varsity four, and bronze by the third varsity and freshman eight crews.

2016- The Bears' first varsity eight takes bronze at the Eastern Sprints

2017- Brown reaches the semifinals of the Ladies' Challenge Plate at the Henley Royal Regatta

2018- The first varsity eight and second varsity eight both capture bronze medals at the Eastern Sprints.

2019- Brown claims bronze in the first varsity eight and silver in the second varsity eight at Eastern Sprints.

2021- Following a spring 2020 season that was canceled due to COVID-19, Brown returned to the water in the spring of 2021, finishing fifth in the team standings at the IRA National Championships.

2022- Head Coach Paul Cooke '89 is named Ivy League and EARC Coach of the Year following the spring campaign. Brown's Varsity 8 finished third, 2V8 finished fifth, and 3V8 finished sixth at the 119th IRA Championship as Brown finished fourth as a team. Five Bears earned All-America honors - Gus Rodriguez and Will Legenzowski earned First Team accolades with Jack DiGiovanni, Charlie Fargo, and Gabriel Mahler earning Second Team honors. The Bears finished second at the 75th Eastern Sprints with the V8, 2V8, and 3V8 all finishing second. The V8 crew earned Second Team All-Ivy honors for the finish.

2023- Brown's Varsity 8 finished seventh, 2V8 finished sixth, V4 finished eleventh, 3V8 finished sixth, and the team overall finished sixth in the Ten Eyck Trophy standings at the 120th IRA Championship. At the 76th Eastern Sprints, the V8 finished sixth, 2V8 took home the bronze, 3V8 won the silver, and the 4V8 and 5V8 each finished fifth. Four Bears were selected as Empacher IRCA All-American's, with Ian Burnett and Gabriel Mahler earning First Team honors, while Josh Golbus and Will Legenzowski were awarded Second Team honors. Simon Hatcher was voted the IRCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, highlighting his excellence in the classroom and on the water.

2024- Head Coach Paul Cooke '89 was unanimously named the Ivy League Coach of the Year, winning the award for the second time in the last three seasons. Brown's V8 finished seventh, 2V8 finished sixth, V4 finished sixth, 3V8 finished fourth, and team overall finished fifth in the Ten Eyck Trophy standings at the 121st IRA Championship. The Bears won the 77th Eastern Sprints and 2024 Ivy League Championship with a first place finish from the Varsity 8. Due to the boat's success at the Sprints, the entire lineup for the V8 earned First Team All-Ivy honors. Other results from the Sprints included the 2V8 finishing seventh, 3V8 finishing fifth, 4V8 winning the silver, and the 5V8 and 6V8 each taking home the bronze. Four Bears were named Empacher IRCA All-Americans, with Ian Burnett and Gabriel Mahler receiving First Team accolades, while Jack DiGiovanni and Willem Stoop earned Second Team honors.

2025- The Bears finished in fourth place as a team in the Ten Eyck Trophy standings, while the Varsity 8 finished fifth, 2V8 finished fourth, V4 finished sixth, and the 3V8 finished sixth at the 122nd IRA Championship. Brown's V8 recorded a fifth place finish at the 78th Eastern Sprints, while the 2V8 took home the gold, 3V8 won the bronze, 4V8 finished sixth, and the 5V8 earned the silver. The Bears won two races against Boston University and Northeastern, while also having strong showings in the Sarasota Invitational and Redwood Shores Challenge.