PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – The Colgate men's rowing team's varsity four competed in the D final of the Men's Varsity Four event at the IRA National Championship on Saturday at Cooper River.

Coach Summers' Comments

"The 4's event was very deep this year and our young boat learned a lot over the course of the regatta.  We raced better each time we lined up on the race course. In the final, we faced some very windy and rough conditions, which the crew handled well, to finish second in the race and 20th overall."

Time Trials
With 39 entries in the men's varsity four event, Colgate launched on Friday for their time trial. The crew's final time of 6:20.083 put them in the 21st position. Colgate faced Boston University, Coast Guard, Williams, Tufts, and Holy Cross in Semifinal DE and battled it out for a place in the D Final.

Semifinal
Colgate earned the final spot in the D Final, crossing the line behind Boston University and Coast Guard, with a time of 6:39.450. The crew faced Wisconsin, Loyola and Northeastern for the first time, as well as both Boston University and the Coast Guard for the second time on the weekend.

• Coast Guard and Tufts found an early lead at the start, followed closely behind by the rest of the crews.
• By the 500-meter mark, Colgate pressed to earn a slight lead over Boston U and Tufts for the second place position.
• The crew's endurance allowed them to keep that momentum to overtake Coast Guard by 750 meters in.
• At the halfway point, Coast Guard managed to pull up level with Colgate, with Boston University and Tufts coming after them.
• Boston University took control of the next 300 meters and walked their way up to the leading position.
• Colgate continued to hold the second place position being half of a length down on the Terriers and a quarter of a length up on Coast Guard.
• The last 250 meters of the race was a tough fight for Colgate, ultimately finishing less than a second off of the Bears' time of 6:38.500 and five off of Boston University's winning time of 6:35.080.

Final
Colgate edged out Wisconsin for a second place finish in the D Final of the men's varsity four event, crossing the finish at 6:34.91. The crew finished 20th overall in the event, with coxswain Bella Jaffe competing in the event for her third, and final time within her Colgate career.

• All crews finished within seconds of each other in the semifinals, and this final proved how evenly matched these crews were within the first 300 meters. 
• At the 500-meter mark, Colgate trailed behind the leading crew, Northeastern, as well as the Coast Guard and Loyola.
• By 1000 meters in, the Huskies maintained their lead on the rest of the field, but Colgate challenged the Greyhounds and Coast Guard for the second place position.
• The crew, stroked by junior Luca Williams, was complemented by the announcers for how effectively the rowers handled the rough conditions. 
• With 500 meters left, this efficiency aided the Raiders in creating a lead on Loyola and Wisconsin.
• The Huskies crossed the line three seconds ahead of all crews, with a winning time of 6:31.330, followed by Colgate, Wisconsin, Loyola, Coast Guard, and lastly Boston U.

Colgate Lineup

C | Bella Jaffe
4 | Luca Williams
3 | Mark Giacona
2 | William White
1 | Mel Farrell