ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's heavyweight rowing program will conclude its 2024-25 season this weekend when it travels to Pennsauken Township, N.J., for the 2025 IRA National Championships that will be held on the Cooper River, beginning with racing on Friday morning.

All races on the weekend will be streamed for free with the creation of an account on Overnght.

Cornell will send a trio of crews to this weekend's IRA National Championship, all of which will be varsity eight crews (1V8+, 2V8+, and 3V8+). The Big Red will be squaring off against 23 other crews in the 1V8+, 21 in the 2V8+, and 17 in the 3V8+. 

2024 IRA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
Cornell accumulated 161 points at last year's IRA National Championships, which were also held on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The Big Red's point total for the Ten Eyck Trophy was 12th out of 24 crews and was 13 points shy of tying Northeastern for 11th place. It marked the Big Red's second consecutive year that it finished 12th at the IRA National Championship.

Washington (288 points) claimed the Ten Eyck Trophy, finishing 22 points ahead of Princeton (266), who was the highest-finishing Ivy League program. The Huskies have won 14 of the last 17 titles, dating back to 2007, and won its 18th overall IRA National Championship title, three more than the second-place holder Wisconsin (15).

In the first day of racing, Cornell's 2V8+ and 3V8+ crews posted third-place finishes in their respective heats to reach the 'AB' semifinals. Cornell had two chances to clinch spots in the 'A' Finals of the Kennedy Challenge Bowl (2V8+) and the Steward's Cup (3V8+), but ended up finishing sixth out of six crews in their semifinal races, leading to racing in the 'B' finals of each event.

On the final day of racing, Cornell's 3V8+ crew posted a fourth-place finish in the 'B' Final with a time of 5:56.939, which was 9.5 seconds behind first-place finishing Yale (5:47.439). Syracuse (5:48.442) and Boston University (5:53.922) also finished ahead of the Big Red. The Big Red's 2V8+ finished in fifth place after recording a time of 5:51.692. Syracuse led the entire 2000-meter race, registering a time of 5:42.332, which was 2.024 seconds ahead of Yale (5:44.356).

One of 35 entries in the 1V4+, Cornell clocked a time of 6:21.643 in the time trial, earning a spot in the 'DEF' semifinals. Washington had the best time in the time trial, logging a 6:06.858 clip. In the semifinals, Cornell posted a wire-to-wire victory in the fourth of six semifinals in the 1V4+, advancing to the 'D' Final after clocking a 6:33.033 time, edging out Northeastern (6:34.736) and Wisconsin (6:34.840) by just under two seconds. Racing in the 'D' Final, the Big Red's 1V4+ posted a third-place finish with a time of 6:37.627, finishing just behind Stanford (6:33.354) and La Salle (6:35.987).

LAST TIME OUT
Cornell placed 11th at the annual Eastern Sprints regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., two weekends ago on May 18.
 
Generating points with a fourth-place finish in the 3V8 and placing fifth in the 1V8 and 2V8 Petite Finals, the Big Red concluded the day with eight points. Only Georgetown (two points), Columbia (one point), Holy Cross (one point), and Navy (zero points) finished behind the Big Red.
 
The Big Red finished fifth in the 5V8 Grand Final to begin the afternoon session of finals races, finishing with a time of 6:19.021. Yale crossed the finish line first with a time of 6:05.853.
 
Cornell finished fourth in both the 3V8 and 4V8 Petite Finals, losing to Syracuse and Princeton, respectively. To round out the day's events, Cornell placed fifth in the 1V8 and 2V8 Petite Finals, where Brown and Northeastern recorded the fastest times.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - HEATS
Friday, May 30
Subject to change
8:32 a.m. — 1V8 Heat 3: Oregon State (Lane 1), Syracuse (Lane 2), Harvard (Lane 3), Yale (Lane 4), Cornell (Lane 5), UC San Diego (Lane 6)

9:20 a.m. — 2V8 Heat 3: Georgetown (Lane 1), Northeastern (Lane 2), Harvard (Lane 3), Syracuse (Lane 4), Cornell (Lane 5), UC San Diego (Lane 6)

10 a.m. — 3V8 Heat 4: Cornell (Lane 2), Princeton (Lane 3), Yale (Lane 4), Wisconsin (Lane 5)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - SEMIFINALS
Saturday, May 31
Subject to change
8:32 a.m. & 8:40 a.m. — 1V8 AB Semifinals

8:48 a.m. & 8:56 a.m. — 2V8 AB Semifinals

9:04 a.m. & 9:12 a.m. — 3V8 AB Semifinals

9:20 a.m. & 9:28 a.m. — 1V8 CD Semifinals

9:36 a.m. & 9:44 a.m. — 2V8 CD Semifinals

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - FINALS
Sunday, June 1
Subject to change
8:38 a.m. — 2V8 'D' Finals

8:56 a.m. — 3V8 'C' Finals

9:04 a.m. — 2V8 'C' Finals

9:12 a.m. — 1V8 'D' Finals

9:20 a.m. — 1V8 'C' Finals

9:30 a.m. — 3V8 'B' Finals

9:40 a.m. — 3V8 'A' Finals

11 a.m. — 2V8 'B' Finals

11:10 a.m. — 2V8 'A' Finals

11:50 a.m. — 1V8 'B' Finals

12:10 p.m. — 1V8 'A' Finals

BOATINGS
To be announced