The Boys Pose with Coach Liolin.
Hoyas Win Bronze Medal at IRAs, Head to Henley Royal
The Intercolligent Rowing Association Regatta, which serves as the lightweight men's national championship, is always a hotly contested race. While most of the participating teams have faced off during the season, either during duel races or at Eastern Sprints, the results are rarely the same. The two weeks between EARC Sprints and IRA's leave coaches plenty of time to make adjustments and hone racing skills before one last test.
After a 6th place finish at Eastern Sprints the Hoyas were left with what they felt was room for improvement. Evans Liolin, the hoyas first-year coach, didn't waste any time looking for that improvement and after two solid weeks of work the Hoyas came back with their improved 'A-game'. Facing a tough heat that featured both the silver and bronze medal crews from Sprints in Cornell and Princeton respectively, the Hoyas also had to cope with a Yale crew that had just missed out on the grand final at Sprints and was hungry to show its speed. However the Hoyas were not to be deterred, as they rowed what could be called a controled race in the heats, qualifying them for the A-Final in the afternoon one second behind Cornell and two ahead of Yale.
In the afternoon final the crews looked closely matched for the first 400 meters when the Hoyas surged to a 4-5 seat lead. Going through the thousand meter mark the Cornell crew managed to just get its bow ahead, where it would stay for the remainder or the race. Harvard would later emerge to nip the Hoyas at the line by .029 seconds for the silver. The bronze medal Hoya crew consisted of coxswain Charles Snyder, Tom Byrnes, Jimmy Curley, Mike McGrath, Billy Quirk, Phil Cimbak, Scott Dotto, John Connolly, and Tim Freeman.
The Hoyas will travel across the big waters to pursue revenge at the Henley Royal Regatta. The regatta runs from July 4th to July 8th at Henley-On-Thames, just outside of London. National Champion Cornell will also be there competing for the Temple Challenge Cup. Results can be found Here.
