The Harvard men’s lightweight rowing team will compete at the IRA National Championship Regatta at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California, from May 29-31. The Crimson, who have won 11 IRA National Championships, aim to defend their titles from 2024 and 2025.
Harvard’s varsity eight returns six oarsmen from last year’s national championship-winning boat, including captain and stroke Ben Lundie. In the previous championship, Harvard secured a win over Dartmouth by more than two and a half seconds. The second varsity crew also claimed a national title with a victory over Penn by 1.3 seconds, while the varsity four finished fourth.
Most recently, Harvard’s varsity eight won gold at the Eastern Sprints, earning an Ivy League title and qualifying for the Henley Royal Regatta. The second and third varsity boats each finished third in their respective races.
Friday’s race schedule includes heats for the junior varsity eight at 11:08 AM (Heat 2), varsity eight at 11:48 AM (Heat 3), and trial one of the varsity four at 2:45 PM Eastern Time. Semifinal times for the varsity four are to be determined. Saturday and Sunday race times will be announced on GoCrimson.com recaps and social media channels.
The boat lineups feature Nathalie Gregg as coxswain of the V8 with Ben Lundie as stroke; Haley Hicks coxing the second varsity; Ericka Lai leading as coxswain of the four-person crew; along with detailed positions for all athletes across boats. Following this regatta, Harvard is set to compete in England after accepting an invitation to participate in the Henley Royal Regatta from June 30 to July 5.
