WORCESTER, Mass. - The Trinity College men's varsity eight finished second to the University of Michigan by less than a second in the petit final at the National Invitational Rowing Championship (NIRC) Regatta this afternoon on Lake Quinsigamond. The Bantam crew was fourth in its preliminary heat, finishing behind Marist, Tufts, and Hamilton, but rallied to defeat Hamilton by nearly seven seconds in the petit final. The finish puts Trinity in fourth in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships, wich ran concurrently with the NIRC.
"After a disappointing morning heat, the first varsity responded with an outstanding effort in the second-level final this afternoon," said Trinity Head Coach
Kevin MacDermott. "The crew did a great job executing their race plan and finished less than a second behind University of Michigan. The varsity overall finish puts them in a strong position to secure an at-large bid to the Division 3 Championship at the upcoming IRA. It was a great run for the crew and provides great momentum for the next few weeks of training."
The Bantam varsity posted a time of 6:06.41 in the petit final and the Michigan Wolverines finished at 6:05.58. Trinity's second-varsity eight placed fifth in its petit final and the open four was second in its petit final. In the Overall Points Trophy Standings, Trinity finished ninth with 74 points, tied with Coast Guard, and the Bantams were eighth in the Men's and Women's Overall Points Trophy Standings with 160 points. MIT and Williams tied for the Overall Points Trophy title at 164 points, but Bates won the Combined Overall Points Trophy with 177 points.
"Both the second-varsity eight and the open four performed well in their respective finals," added MacDermott. "Racing with intensity and aggression, they were at the front of the field and took big steps in their development. We return everyone from these crews next year and know that this championship racing experience will positively influence their growth over the coming months."
