WEST WINDSOR, NJ – Jacksonville Men's Rowing capped off their 2022 spring season on Saturday Morning claiming sixth place in the Men's Varsity Four Petite Final, and 12^th place overall,  at the IRA National Championship.

After securing their spot in the IRA Championship's V4+ Petite Final for the first time in program history yesterday, the 'Phins hit the waters of Mercer Lake again on Saturday to battle it out with California, La Salle, Northeastern, Brown, and Holy Cross for the petite crown.

Despite a solid start to the race in which JU led or was tied for the lead for the first 500 meters, the 'Phins' speed then dropped off in their final 1500 meters unfortunately leading to a sixth place finish out of six teams.

Despite the result, the Varsity Four's placement of 12^th overall was still the best of all time for a JU V4 and was certainly a sign of the consistent growth that JU Men's Rowing has made all season long.

"It was great, but I know our guys wanted more results-wise… when you're able to push and hang with these teams you get the taste of it and want to go for it, and when you don't get it, it's a little more devastating," commented Head Coach Preston Weinard on the V4's result.

"I think it's a lot of lessons learned on the level of racing at the IRA and how we are striving to be at that level, but we were also here, we earned it, and held our own to compete… The fact that they (V4) were in front for so long is amazing, and I think as the years go on, we'll have more training and speed, and we'll just keep getting better and better," continued Weinard

"I am over the moon for them, this year has been long and difficult and going from an eight to a four for this race was extremely hard, but they pulled it off," finished Weinard.

The Dolphins now prepare to break for the summer as they set their sights on the upcoming fall season and some much deserved time off.

"I think for the offseason the guys just need to relax, disconnect and recover a little bit. Next year will be a great opportunity to start with a clean slate with a new training plan, new expectations, and a new structure. The culture will continue to grow, and god bless the work always, but we're still going to make a lot of changes and have a lot of new things happen in this coming year, and it's a really awesome opportunity to do so," commented Coach Weinard on his outlook for the offseason.

The 2022 IRA National Championship now rolls on for another day with 18 more finals races to be held tomorrow including both the Men's and Women's Varsity Eight Finals.

Be sure to check back here at JUDolphins.com and on the team's social media accounts @Jax_Mrow for updates all offseason long.

FULL RESULTS

Results – Click Here