The Northeastern men's crew program continued its resurgence on Saturday at the 2012 IRA National Championships in Camden, N.J. The Huskies posted three top-10 national finishes, led by a bronze-medal performance by the freshman eight. The Northeastern varsity four placed fourth in the grand final, while the open four finished third in the petite final. The Huskies' varsity eight cruised to a first-place finish in the third level final, posting the sixth-best time of any varsity eight crew.

The medal-winning performance is the first for a Northeastern freshman eight since 1994, when the Huskies took home the silver. It also is the best-ever performance by the Northeastern freshmen since the IRA Regatta was officially recognized as the national championship event nearly a decade ago.

In a thrilling grand final, the freshman eight of Connor Wortley (cox), Sean Crowley (stroke), Riordan Morrell, Kyle Erlandson, Cameron Buchan, Max Montpetit, Colin Schaap, Dale Jordan and Bill Tomlinson (bow), turned in a strong all-around performance to firmly position itself as the nation's No. 3 freshman crew. To begin the race, three crews jumped out early, with Washington and California even and Northeastern just a seat behind in third. As the crews rowed through the 500-meter mark, California moved out to a three-seat advantage over Washington, which was three-seats up on Northeastern, which owned a comfortable lead over Harvard. By the 1000-meter mark, the three front-runners continued to distance themselves from the field. In the race's third 500, Cal and Washington battled for the top spot, with Northeastern clearly in third, and Cornell challenging Harvard for fourth. Entering the final 500, Cornell rowed through Harvard for fourth and Washington overtook Cal for first. Northeastern completed a strong 2000-meter effort, finishing in third with a time of 5:43.629. Harvard and Brown finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

In the varsity four grand final, Northeastern again positioned itself among the nation's elite by posting a fourth-place finish. Washington walked out to an early lead in the race, with California and Brown engaged in a battle for second, and Northeastern in fourth. The crews maintained position for much of the middle 1000 meters of the race. California rowed into Washington in the final 500, but UW held off the challenge to capture first, with Cal in second, Brown in third, and Northeastern in fourth with a time of 6:26.643. Georgetown and Navy finished fifth and sixth, respectively. The Northeastern varsity four consisted of Raphaela Putz (cox), Christoph Kapp, Jacob Horwath, Erik Wessel and Daniel Corso.

The Huskies finished third in the open four petite final to earn a top-10 national finish. Cornell raced out to an early lead over the field, with Princeton and Northeastern locked in a battle for second place. Nearly even entering the final 500 meters of the race, the Tigers were able to edge ahead of the Huskies at the finish. Northeastern crossed the line in 6:34.639. Cornell was first at 6:29.636. Syracuse, Pennsylvania and Drexel rounded out the six-crew field. Rowing the open four for the Huskies were Les Kernan (cox), Jack Stein, Andrew Wait, Amrou Fudl and Greg Snyder.

The Northeastern varsity eight completed a challenging weekend on the upswing, cruising to victory in the third level final. The Huskies boat of Zachary Williamson (cox), Justin Jones (stroke), Tyler Underhill, Ryan Rosts, Trevor Weaser, Eric Jackson, Steve Komadoski, Svetislav Pejcic and Matthew Schanck (bow), posted the sixth-best time among the 18 crews rowing in three varsity eight finals. Northeastern established itself early in the race and maintained its position at the front of the field. Entering the final 500, the Huskies held a one-seat advantage over Stanford and continued to gain momentum. The Red and Black moved away from the Cardinal to win by three-quarters of a length. NU completed the course in 5:32.953, followed by Stanford, Dartmouth, George Washington, Drexel and Gonzaga.

The strong IRA National Championships performance caps a year in which Northeastern posted a 6-2 race record in the regular regatta season. The Huskies' varsity eight posted wins over Boston University, Georgetown, George Washington, Holy Cross, Oregon State and Pennsylvania. The Huskies swept five of seven regattas on the year. The Northeastern first freshman, meanwhile, posted a 7-1 record in 2012 and captured the silver medal at the prestigious Eastern Sprints. The freshman boat posted a win over Brown, in addition to the six crews also defeated by the varsity.


Day one coverage: Freshman eight, varsity four advance to IRA grand finals
Day two coverage: Two NU crews advance to semis after day one of IRAs


RESULTS - SATURDAY, JUNE 2
Click HERE for complete regatta results

Freshman eight - grand final
1. Washington - 5:31.902
2. California - 5:35.659
3. Northeastern - 5:43.629
4. Cornell - 5:45.817
5. Harvard - 5:46.381
6. Brown - 5:52.331

Varsity four - grand final
1. Washington - 6:12.258
2. California - 6:14.098
3. Brown - 6:21.372
4. Northeastern - 6:26.643
5. Georgetown - 6:29.823
6. Navy - 6:36.268

Open four - petite final
1. Cornell - 6:29.636
2. Princeton - 6:32.025
3. Northeastern - 6:34.639
4. Syracuse - 6:37.422
5. Pennsylvania - 6:44.607
6. Drexel - 6:48.479

Varsity eight - third level final
1. Northeastern - 5:32.953
2. Stanford - 5:35.120
3. Dartmouth - 5:38.156
4. George Washington - 5:38.307
5. Drexel - 5:48.851
6. Gonzaga - 5:52.923