Heavies' Varsity Four Takes IRA Gold; 2V Races For Medal Sunday

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WEST WINDSOR – The Princeton men's heavyweight rowing team earned a gold medal at the IRA Championships as the varsity four held off a late rally by Washington.

The varsity four of Eleanor Bauer, Greg Le Meur, Matthew Wagner, Emmett Infante and Sam Kleiner got out to an open water lead and led by two seconds with 500m to go. The Huskies got their bow ball on to the stroke seat of the Tigers, but couldn't make the catch, solidifying the gold for the Heavies.

"Coming into the last 750 meters of the race, I could hear the Washington coxswain call their final push before the sprint," said Bauer, the coxswain. "I told my guys, "They're trying to move, we need to go now." We seized the moment and pulled away, and as the final sprint unfolded, we knew we would win. We feel incredibly blessed and grateful for this opportunity, especially the support from our coach Joe Gartland."

"Winning is huge as we had some great practices these past few weeks, but it wasn't until the time trial and semifinals that we knew would be national champions," said Le Meur, the stroke. "The three freshman on the boat really stepped up. Training with our dominant lightweight women's team this past week was also a push that helped us sharpen our race mentality. Overall winning the title is unreal and it's an amazing feeling to accomplish something like this with a team I love so much."

It's the first gold medal for Princeton at IRAs since the third varsity in 2016. It's the first medal for the Tigers since the varsity four took bronze in 2019. Washington had won the previous 11 4+ titles.

"I am so incredibly thrilled for these guys," said Princeton head coach Greg Hughes. "They raced with guts and shown resilience through a season that has thrown challenges their way and they never backed down. And, a very special shout-out to Coach Gartland and the amazing work he did with this crew. Thank you, Joe!"

The second varsity hung tight with California in its heat, trailing by under two seconds with 500m to go, but ultimately took the third position across the line (5:47.44) behind Cal (5:44.01) and Brown (5:45.50). It qualified for the Grand Final on Sunday at 10 a.m., looking for its first medal since 2017.

Princeton's first varsity placed fifth in its semifinal (5:44.83) and will race in the Petite Final tomorrow at 10:40 a.m.

The Tigers' third varsity just missed its Grand Final, keeping close with California for the third spot, but falling 2.3 seconds behind the Bears to take fourth (5:55.60). Yale and Washington were first and second. Its Petite Final is at 9:20 a.m.

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