IRA/USRowing Collegiate Poll
Yale and Stanford Lead the Final USRowing Polls Ahead of IRA Weekend
May 19, 2016
Votes are in for the final week of the 2016 USRowing Coaches Poll and Yale University topped the heavyweight and lightweight lists, while Stanford University's lightweight women held first, where they have been from the week one.
The east and west coast league champions have been crowned and there is just one big weekend of racing to go before national champions are determined at the IRA Championships June 3-5 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
Yale University's men’s heavy and lightweight crews won the varsity grand finals at the 2016 Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. For the Yale heavies, it was the second consecutive championship and sends them to IRAs as a favorite to win the title that evaded them last year. But they will have to contend with University of California's men’s varsity eight. Cal took the varsity eight title at the Pac-12 Championships on Lake Natoma Sunday and snapped a six-year drought.
“This was great. They’re a great group of racers and it’s a privilege to coach them,” said Yale men’s coach Steve Gladstone, who said he was looking forward to the IRAs. “We’ve got graduation coming up, so we’ll take care of that, and then try to keep it going.”
Yale earned 10 first-place votes and finished first in the men’s heavyweight poll. University of California earned one first-place vote and ranked second. Princeton University won the overall points trophy at Sprints and was third. The University of Washington and Brown University rounded out the top five.
Before the heavies had their time on the podium, Yale’s lightweights led the way in the grand finals, capping a strong dual racing season with a championship and overall lightweight points title.
Head lightweight coach Andy Card was clearly enjoying watching the fun. “These guys are good guys,” Card said. “I’ve been seeing fast times and good rowing throughout the spring, and I was glad I got to see it today.”
Yale’s lightweight men earned six first-place votes to finish first in the poll, with Columbia University in second and Princeton in third. Cornell University finished fourth and the University of Pennsylvania was fifth.
In the lightweight women’s poll, Stanford remained the favorite in the division and earned four first-place votes. Boston University earned one first-place vote and was second. Harvard-Radcliffe University finished third. University of Wisconsin and Massachusetts Institute of Technology finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Men’s Varsity Eight
Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points | Previous |
1 | Yale University (10) | 218 | 1 |
2 | University of California (1) | 205 | 2 |
3 | Princeton University | 196 | 3 |
4 | University of Washington | 194 | 4 |
5 | Brown University | 190 | 6 |
6 | Harvard University | 164 | 5 |
7 | Cornell University | 155 | 7 |
8 | Northeastern University | 133 | 9 |
9 | Boston University | 129 | 8 |
10 | Columbia University | 118 | 15 |
11 | University of Pennsylvania | 106 | 13 |
12 | Syracuse University | 93 | 10 |
13 | Dartmouth College | 74 | 11 |
14 | Stanford University | 70 | 14 |
15 | University of Wisconsin | 67 | 12 |
16 | United States Naval Academy | 52 | 16 |
17 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43 | 19 |
18 | George Washington University | 38 | 18 |
19 | Drexel University | 29 | 17 |
20 | Oregon State University | 20 | 20 |
(This week’s men’s eight voters: Scott Alwin, Jim Barr, Geoff Bond, Brian Perkins, Michael Callahan, Chris Clark, Paul Cooke, Mark Davis, Greg Hughes, Todd Kennett, Paul Savell)
Men’s Lightweight Varsity Eight
Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points | Previous |
1 | Yale University (6) | 90 | 1 |
2 | Columbia University | 85 | 2 |
3 | Princeton University | 78 | 3 |
4 | Cornell University | 72 | 4 |
5 | University of Pennsylvania | 66 | 5 |
6 | United States Naval Academy | 60 | 7 |
7 | Harvard University | 54 | 6 |
8 | Dartmouth College | 46 | 8 |
9 | Mercyhurst University | 41 | 10 |
10 | Georgetown University | 36 | 11 |
11 | University of Delaware | 31 | 9 |
12 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 22 | T-12 |
13 | Purdue University | 17 | NR |
14 | University of California, Santa Barbara | 11 | T-12 |
15 | University of California | 6 | 15 |
(This week’s lightweight men’s eight voters: Shawn Bagnall, Michiel Bartman, Martin Crotty, Jamie Francis, Sean Healey, Will Oliver)
Women’s Lightweight Varsity Eight
Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points | Previous |
1 | Stanford University (4) | 74 | 1 |
2 | Boston University (1) | 71 | 2 |
3 | Harvard-Radcliffe University | 65 | 3 |
4 | University of Wisconsin | 60 | 4 |
5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 53 | 5 |
6 | Princeton University | 50 | 6 |
7 | Georgetown University | 43 | 8 |
8 | University of Tulsa | 30 | 7 |
9 | Villanova University | 21 | 9 |
10 | Bucknell University | 20 | 10 |
11 | Washington State University | 17 | T-12 |
12 | University of California | 15 | 11 |
13 | Oklahoma City University | 10 | T-12 |
T-14 | Purdue University | 7 | NR |
T-14 | University of Oregon | 7 | 14 |
(This week’s lightweight women’s eight voters: Malcolm Doldron, Dusty Mattison, Claire Martin-Doyle, Rodney Mott, Paul Rassam)