UW Wins V4+ National Title; All Eights Win Semifinals

Saturday, May 31

Cooper River, N.J.

5:00 AM PT

University of Washington

IRA National Championships

uw men's varsity 4 wins IRA national championship 2025

Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures

May 31, 2025 | Men's Rowing

UW Results Full Regatta Results Live Video Coverage Highlights Championship Central Photo Gallery

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – Washington's No. 2-ranked men's rowing team earned its 15^th Eric W. Will Trophy as varsity four national champions Saturday on day two of the IRA National Championship Regatta. UW also had all three of its eights earn semifinal wins to advance to Sunday's grand finals.

Windy conditions on Cooper River, which has pushed the entire day's schedule back four hours, led to a fair amount of drama across all race categories, along with a larger-than-average number of very close and fast races. After a pair of delays due to equipment issues in other boats, Washington won its first and third varsity eights semifinals and finished in a dead heat with Harvard in the second varsity eight race.

UW also broke IRA finals records in the varsity fours and both the second and third varsity eights.

In the varsity fours final, the Huskies' last event of the day, UW passed the 500-meter mark in first place, just ahead of California, with Harvard and Syracuse close behind. By 1,000 meters, Washington had a boat-length on the field, with Harvard challenging Cal.

In the second half of the race, Harvard presented the Huskies with a consistent battle, but Washington never ceded the lead.

Washington's four – coxswain Maggie Gibbons, stroke Tobias Bosnes, three-seat Ethan Walsh, two-seat Parker Raines, and bow Marley King Smith – won the race in 6:11.600, about a length ahead of Harvard (6:13.890). California took the bronze medal.

With the win, the Huskies won the Eric W. Will Trophy, first awarded in 1968, for the 15^thtime, and for the 13^th time under current men's head coach Michael Callahan. In 2012 on the same Cooper River race course, UW won the V4+ final in 6:12.258, which had held up as the record until today.

Earlier Saturday, Washington's varsity eight semifinal was delayed due to an equipment issue in the Brown shell. After the delay, the Huskies came off of the starting line quickly, taking the lead over Dartmouth and Penn through 500 and 1,000 meters.

In the third 500, Dartmouth gave the Huskies a challenge, but the UW varsity was able to respond, holding on to win the race in 5:24.800, just under eight tenths of a second in front of Dartmouth, with Brown third.

In the other varsity eights semifinal, Harvard was leading No. 1-seeded California in the final 200 meters when a Cal rower caught a crab, bringing the shell to a nearly complete stop. The Bears were unable to recover in time and finished sixth, eliminating them from national title contention.

Harvard won that semifinal, followed by Syracuse and Princeton. Those three will join UW, Dartmouth and Brown in the grand final Sunday, with the National Championship on the line. In men's college rowing, the winner of the varsity eight grand final is considered the "national champion."

After a very tightly-packed start to the Huskies' second varsity eights semifinal, Harvard moved out to a small lead over UW and Yale, but it didn't last long. At 500 meters, Washington had the lead by small fractions of a second over the Crimson.

At 1,000 meters, Harvard had inched ahead of Washington, just one-tenth of a second in front, with Yale in a close third position ahead of Northeastern.

But, by 1,500 meters, it was once again the Huskies in front by a nose and the race set up for a battle down the stretch.

At the end, both UW and Harvard crossed the finish line with times of 5:26.900, leaving the result to a photo finish. In the meantime, Yale held off Northeastern to earn the third qualifying spot.

More than an hour later, the race was officially called a dead heat, with UW and Harvard tying for first place. The time of 5:26.900 shattered the old IRA regatta record for second varsity eights (5:31.616), also set on Cooper River in 2012. UW and Harvard now share the new standard.

In the other 2V8+ semifinal, California, Syracuse and Brown took the top-three spots to move on to the grand final.

The third varsity race also saw a delay, but eventually got off to a quick start with UW and California moving to the front.

Cal, which had set a new IRA finals record for third varsity eights in the heats on Friday, led at 500, but by 1,000 meters, the Huskies were in front, with both comfortably ahead of Princeton and Brown, who were battling for third.

After leading by less than one second at 1,500 meters, Washington sprinted to the win, setting a new IRA Regatta record for third varsity eights with a time of 5:32.450, just six tenths ahead of the Golden Bears. Princeton held off Brown for third place.

In the other semifinal, Harvard, Syracuse and Yale earned the berths in the grand final by finishing first, second and third.

Sunday, the Huskies will attempt to defend not only their varsity eights national championship, but also their titles in the second and third eights, as UW swept all four heavyweight finals in 2024.

Here is the Huskies' schedule for Sunday's grand finals:

6:40 a.m. PT – Third Varsity Eight Grand Final
Lanes 1-6: Yale, California, Harvard, Washington, Syracuse, Princeton

8:10 a.m. PT – Second Varsity Eight Grand Final
Lanes 1-6: Brown, Washington, California, Harvard, Syracuse, Yale

9:10 a.m. PT – Varsity Eight Grand Final
Lanes 1-6: Brown, Syracuse, Washington, Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton

WASHINGTON LINEUPS

Varsity Eight
Shell: ShoeDaWg
Cox: Nick Dunlop
Stroke: Ryan Martin
7: Klas Ole Lass
6: Giuseppe Bellomo
5: Povilas Juskevicius
4: Ben Shortt
3: Sam Ford
2: Logan Ullrich
Bow: Harry Fitzpatrick

Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Brett "Big Red" Reisinger
Cox: Kieran Joyce
Stroke: Ryan Smith
7: Jonathan Wang-Norderud
6: Quinn Hall
5: Blake Vogel
4: Ian Burnett
3: Lyle Donovan
2: Marius Bjørn-Hansen Ahlsand
Bow: Finn Griskauskas

Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Chuck Holtz III
Cox: Nikita Jacobs
Stroke: Rory McDonnell
7: Will Milne
6: Marc Tennesen
5: Alex Gonin
4: Ewan Morrow
3: Lucas Andersen
2: Cameron Tasker
Bow: Hector Guimet

Varsity Four
Shell: George Yeoman Pocock
Stroke: Tobias Bosnes
3: Ethan Walsh
2: Parker Raines
Bow: Marley King Smith
Cox: Maggie Gibbons