WORCESTER, Mass. --

The CGA men's rowing team arrived ready to race at the National Invitational Rowing Championships, and we arrived with the largest team we have ever taken to the NIRCs. With summer training starting we were down a few key players, but we were still able to boat three eights and a four.

Up first with the men's 4+ and they picked the right time to have their best race of the season. In the closing 200 meters they were able to outsprint WPI for the final place in the second final. The effort cost them dearly and they were not able to keep pace with the field in the afternoon under some fast but trying conditions. A special thanks to Kira Garcia for stepping up to coxswain for the 4+ after we lost a coxswain to summer training scheduling.

The 3V had a good showing in the morning that set up an even better showing in the afternoon. I can't say enough about the improvement this boat has made throughout the season. After losing to MIT by 19 seconds at the beginning of the season, the 3V was able to close to within 2.5 seconds in yesterday's second level final.

The 2V did not get the conditions they hoped for (for some reason the stronger the head wind and the more rain the better) but were able to qualify for the petite final and have a strong showing against what is becoming one of our best rivalries - WPI and Colby College.

For the 1V the morning heat was a chance to qualify for the grand final and they went for it. They left the line at 48 strokes a minute and settled to 39 spm in an effort to keep pace with Bates and Tufts (the two schools ended up third and second on the day). It was a valiant effort and while they did not match the speed of either school, they were able to hold off d2 rival Embry-Riddle to get a more favored lane for the second level final. A strong race in the final put them in a close race with Colby College and chasing two D1 schools (Hobart and Marist). The Bear's ended up in fourth 1.4 seconds behind Colby and 10th overall at the NIRCs.

As a team, CGA place 10th for the men's events, 12th in the women's events, and seventh for the combined team events.

This race ends the career for three rowers – James Chase, Benjamin Coutu, and Nate Pokress. They have been the backbone of the team, and we will definitely miss them at the boathouse!

Complete results are available HERE:

The lineups for racing were:

1V:
Brent Fournier(Bedford, NH)
James Chase(Greenbrae, CA)
Benjamin Dush(Henderson, NV)
Jonah McFarland(Seattle, WA)
Benjamin Coutu(Juneau, AK)
Nate Pokress(Arlington, MA)
Nicholas Salvati(Monroeville, NJ)
Sean Francis(Plymouth, MA)

2V:
Charles Sokolove(Alexadnria, VA)
Lucas Guerra(Charlottesville, VA)
Maddox Holmes-Selby(San Clemente, CA)
AJ Buzzelli(Acworth, GA)
Eliot Maravich(Pittsburgh, PA)
Michael Lee(Cypress, CA)
Seth Pettis(Columbus, OH)
Eli Chapman(Daphne, AL)
Damian Olechowski(Brighton, MA)

3V:
Riley Ritter(New York, NY)
James Hebebrand(Gainesville, FL)
Moses Wiens(Spokane, WA)
Parker Anselmi(Payallup, WA)
Ty Lauritzen(Issaquah, WA)
Colin Griffee(Seattle, WA)
Zac Gamble(Waterford, CT)
Jackson Curry(Bridgewater, VA)
Phillip Jones(Fairfax, VA)

4V:
Kira Garcia(Tampa, FL)
Jackson Mamock(Sterrett, AL)
Maxwell Penella(Arlington, VA)
Nathan Williams(Beaverton, OR)
Matthew Turner(Brookfield, WI)