The Barometer Online

Issue date: 6/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cory Reed The Oregon State men's Varsity 8+ crew practices early in the 2009 season. The Beavers V8+, Freshman 8+ and Open 8+ will compete in the IRA Championships in California beginning today. The Beavers are currently the No. 16 team in the nation at the V8+ level.

Oregon State men's rowing team is headed back to Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif., for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships that begin today and go until June 6. It is the first time the regatta has been held on the west coast and will be the 16th consecutive appearance by the Beavers in the IRA Championships.

The No. 16 Beavers were selected as an at-large team to compete in the regatta after finishing one spot shy of an automatic qualification at the Pac-10 Championships. OSU is familiar to the course on Lake Natoma, having raced there during the Pac-10 Championships and in the fall.

Head Coach Steve Todd feels the team is "more comfortable on this lake."

"It is the third time racing at Lake Natoma this year," Todd said. "Everyone knows the area and the conditions we will face."

Pac-10 rivals No. 1 California, No. 2 Stanford and No. 5 Washington will be joining the Beavers at Lake Natoma for the regatta along with another 18 crew teams.

Competition begins today at 8 a.m. with the Varsity 8+ boat racing against California, No. 17 Princeton, No. 9 Northeastern and No. 8 Cornell University. The Beavers must finish first or second in the heat to advance to the semifinals on Friday. If the Beavers do not finish first or second, they will be forced to race in one of the four repechages later this afternoon.

"Between Pac-10 and Nationals we have been working pretty hard," Todd said. "We have already seen and raced all of the top teams in the nation."

Along with OSU's Varsity 8+ boat, the Freshman 8+ and the Open 4+ boat will be competing at the IRA Championships.

The Freshman 8+ is No. 15 in the F8+ Division and will race in the first of three heats against No. 3 Harvard, No. 4 California, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 10 Navy and No. 16 Gonzaga. The Beavers F8+ will take to the water at 9:36 a.m., and only the winning crew of the heat will continue on to race in the finals. The remaining five boats will race in the repechages on Friday.

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