June 3, 2005

CAMDEN, NJ - Three Saint Joseph's men's crews took to the Cooper River to compete for national titles at the IRA Regatta. The Hawks posted solid results on the first day with the Varsity 4, Freshman 4 and Junior Varsity 8 all advancing to Friday's semifinals.

The Varsity 4 looking to improve upon its fourth place finish in 2004, was impressive in the heats, turning in the fourth fastest time of the morning (6:49.02) and placing second to Stanford in its race. The crew was even more impressive winning its repechage, which also featured Minnesota, UC-Davis, Ohio State and Brown, in a time of 7:03.89 to reach the semifinals.

The Frosh 4 placed fourth in its opening heat, finishing behind George Washington, Gonzaga and Wisconsin, with a time of 7:10.24. In the repechage SJU finished third, following Hobart and Navy across the line in a time of 7:18.88 to move into the semifinals.

The Second Varsity 8, coming off a gold medal perfomance at the Dad Vail, placed fifth with a time of 6:27.94 in a tough opening heat that also included Wisconsin, Washington, Navy and Michigan. The Hawks fared better in the reps, placing third bhind Navy and Syracuse in a time of 6:19.39 and also moved on to the semifinals.

IRA RESULTS