Cal men’s rowing team finishes 3rd at Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta

As one of only three teams to advance all four boats to Sunday’s grand finals, the Cal men’s rowing team was one of the premier performers at Lake Natoma over the weekend. The second varsity eight boat was the only boat that managed to finish ahead of Ten Eyck points champion Washington and IRA champion Yale.

Yale was crowned national champion for the third year in a row after earning first place in Sunday’s varsity eight grand final. The Bulldogs finished 16 points ahead of Cal and just 2 points ahead of Washington to place second in the Ten Eyck leaderboard.

The Bears’ varsity eight boat was this weekend’s biggest disappointment, falling behind Harvard to occupy fourth place and capping off an impressive first season for head coach Scott Frandsen. The third varsity eight boat finished in fifth behind Princeton to wrap up the weekend.

“It’s just been such an honor to coach these guys,” Frandsen said. “You develop such bonds with the seniors and all the guys over their time at Cal. To have the honor to guide the program and to be the head coach, it’s something special.”

The Cal women’s rowing team finishes 6th at competitive NCAA Championships

Cal’s undefeated women’s varsity eight boat finished in fifth behind archrival Stanford in the grand final, failing to live up to expectations for the first time in the most important weekend of the season.

Led by Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Athlete of the Year Dana Moffat, the Cal women’s rowing team failed to finish in the top two for the first time in the past six seasons. The underwhelming conclusion was the lowest-place finish for the Bears since 2007.

Overall, Cal finished sixth on the leaderboards, only 2 points behind Ohio State. The Bears’ second varsity eight boat was the team’s highest finisher over the weekend, finishing nearly a full second ahead of Princeton in the Petite Final. The varsity eight boat finished in sixth in its grand final to conclude Cal’s season.

The Bears will be losing nine seniors from this year’s squad, including varsity eight member Samantha Lamos, who was grateful for her time at Cal despite the disappointing finish.

“It has been an amazing ride for this varsity eight, and this one loss does not diminish that at all,” Lamos said. “It hurts now, but the feeling you get from being on this team and the amount of effort that we put in, that’s what makes it worthwhile and that is what we are all here for.”