Dragons Post Top Ever Finish at IRA Nationals

Friday, June 2

Mercer, N.J. / Lake Carnegie

8:00 A.M.

Drexel University

IRA National Championships

Dragons Post Top Ever Finish at IRA Nationals

6/4/2023 10:20:00 AM | Men's Rowing

PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 16 Drexel men's rowing team enjoyed its best performance ever at the IRA National Championships with a pair of boats placing within the top-15 nationally.

The performances helped Drexel to a 15th place finish in the Ten Eyck Trophy standings,

"I couldn't be prouder of our team this weekend," said head coach Paul Savell. "To turn in two of our best placements ever is an outstanding accomplishment. The fight our V8 showed in the closing stretch was fantastic. It's a great day to be a Dragon."

The Varsity 8+ turned in an all-time best placement, finishing second in the Third Level Final, ranking the Dragons 14th nationally. In a tightly contested race that saw different teams lead at each of the 500 meter markers, the group of Sam DeSilva (coxswain), John Karen (stroke), Nikola Loncar, Josh Diggons, Damian Lis, James Schmidt, Andrew Manns, Jack Anderson and Andrei Malis (bow) sprinted Lois Krall III to the finish in the final 250 meters. The effort worked as DU pulled ahead of perennial national powerhouse Wisconsin, besting the 14th ranked Badgers by less than a second, clocking a time of 5:45.316.

Also beating its seed and earning a program best 14th place finish nationally was the 3V8+. Rowing in Sandra Lee Sheller II, Alex Dragovits (coxswain), Vuk Mladenovic (stroke), Daniel Yurcisin, Alex Manolarakis, Joe Glenn, Malcolm Grauley, Nick Perks, Thomas Gola and Sean Williams (bow) got off to a fast start, rowing at better than 44 strokes per minute for the first 500 meters. The Dragons maintained their position throughout the race and bested ranked opponents Wisconsin, Oregon State, UC San Diego and Santa Clara by more than three seconds each, crossing the line in 6:11.520.

The 2V8+ of Billy Ernst (coxswain), Sean Blair (stroke), Dearon Tufankjian, Richmond Coney, Roman Smigiel, Jake Miller, Nick Foley, John Little and Sam Valigorsky (bow) competed in Lois Krall II and finished in 6:04.691, placing fifth in its final and 17th nationally.

The V4+ got Drexel off to a good start on Saturday when it finished 17th overall with a time of 7:20.671. The boat displayed the Dragons' depth in the roster as all members of the shell were freshmen with Charlotte Bentrim (coxswain), George Karacsonyi (stroke), Jono Andersson, Ben Werber and Aidan Ionescu (bow) rowed in Dan Lyons.

The IRA Nationals capped a season that saw DU earn wins in back-to-back weeks at two of the biggest fall regattas, taking the top spot at both the Head of the Charles and the Head of the Schuylkill before a top-10 spot at the Princeton Chase. Moving into the spring, Drexel carried the success forward with wins at the Occoquan Invitational, Kerr Cup and Bergen Cup regattas, leading to its second consecutive men's points title at the Dad Vail Regatta.

RESULTS
Varsity 8+ - Third Level Final
1. Boston University - 5:44.166
2. Drexel - 5:45.316
3. Wisconsin - 5:46.090
4. Navy - 5:46.906
5. Columbia - 5:49.352
6. La Salle - 5:55.848
14th place nationally

2V8+ - Third Level Final
1. Stanford - 5:56.739
2. Navy - 5:58.401
3. Wisconsin - 5:59.769
4. La Salle - 6:02.883
5. Drexel - 6:04.961
6. UC San Diego - 6:07.859
17th place nationally

V4+ - Third Level Final
1. Boston University - 7:10.085
2. Syracuse - 7:12.379
3. Oklahoma City - 7:14.365
4. Princeton - 7:16.191
5. Drexel - 7:20.671
6. Colgate - 7:27.215
17th place nationally

3V8+ - Third Level Final
1. Cornell - 6:00.672
2. Drexel - 6:11.520
3. Wisconsin - 6:13.808
4. Oregon State - 6:14.426
5. UC San Diego - 6:24.028
6. Santa Clara - 6:27.946
14th place nationally

LINEUPS
Varsity 8+
Shell - Lois Krall III
Coxswain - Sam DeSilva
Stroke - John Karen
7 - Nikola Loncar
6 - Josh Diggons
5 - Damian Lis
4 - James Schmidt
3 - Andrew Manns
2 - Jack Anderson
Bow - Andrei Malis

2V8+
Shell - Lois Krall II
Coxswain - Billy Ernst
Stroke - Sean Blair
7 - Dearon Tufankjian
6 - Richmond Coney
5 - Roman Smigiel
4 - Jake Miller
3 - Nick Foley
2 - John Little
Bow - Sam Valigorsky

V4+
Shell - Dan Lyons
Coxswain - Charlotte Bentrim
Stroke - George Karacsonyi
3 - Jono Andersson
2 - Ben Werber
Bow - Aidan Ionescu

3V8+
Shell - Sandra Lee Sheller II
Coxswain - Alex Dragovits
Stroke - Vuk Mladenovic
7 - Daniel Yurcisin
6 - Alex Manolarakis
5 - Joe Glenn
4 - Malcolm Grauley
3 - Nick Perks
2 - Thomas Gola
Bow - Sean Williams

Alternates (Alphabetical Order) - Carter Hubbard, Kosta Petkovic