June 1, 2007

Camden, NJ - The Brown men's crew has done an outstanding job in the semi-finals at the IRA Championships today, as four of their crews will be competing on the Cooper River in the Grand Finals tomorrow.

"It's a great accomplishment for us and we're really excited," said Head Coach Paul Cooke. "It was a great, gutsy race (varsity eight) to beat Yale and get into the Grand Final."

The varsity eight finished in third with a 5:33.7, as California came in first with a 5:32.5 and Harvard in second at 5:32.7. Yale crossed the line at 5:33.3, while Wisconsin took fifth with a 5:36.3 and Oregon State finished last with a 5:55.0.

The varsity eight will compete at 12:24 p.m. in the Grand Final tomorrow, and will race against Stanford, Harvard, Washington, California, and Princeton.

Bruno's second varsity took first place in the semi-finals and will compete in the Grand Finals tomorrow as well. The second varsity came in at 5:42.0, while Harvard "A" came in second with a 5:43.1, and Cornell in third with a 5:43.1. Syracuse secured fourth with a 5:51.5, while Yale "B" came in fifth with a 5:55.1 and Penn in last with a 5:59.1.

The second varsity will compete at noon tomorrow, and will challenge California, Harvard "A", Wisconsin, Washington and Cornell.

The varsity four (with a coxswain), also earned a spot in the Grand Finals after taking third in the semi-finals with a 6:18.6. California came in first with a 6:17.1, Hobart in second with a 6:18.5, and UMass came in fourth with a 6:19.2.

Bruno's four will challenge UCLA, Hobart, Temple, California and Gonzaga at 10:24 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Brown's freshman eight, who placed first in their heat yesterday, took second in the semi-finals today to compete in the Grand Finals tomorrow at 11:36 a.m. California came in first with a 5:40.2, followed by Brown (5:44.2), Princeton (5:46.2), Northeastern (5:49.7), Cornell (5:51.5) and George Washington (6:11.5).

The freshman eight will compete at 11:36 a.m. in the Grand Finals against Yale, Harvard, California, Washington and Princeton.

The Varsity Four (without a coxswain) finished fourth in the repechage with a time of 6:36.1. They will compete in the third-level final tomorrow.

Fans can follow the Bears' progress in the Grand Finals tomorrow by visiting: ROW2K.com