The Northeastern men’s rowing team earned a third-place finish in the first varsity Grand Final at the Eastern Sprints on May 17, marking their first podium appearance since 2015. Both the first and second varsity boats reached the Grand Final on Lake Quinsigamond, with the second varsity securing fourth place for its best result in nearly a decade.
This performance is significant as it is the first time since 2019 that both Northeastern’s top two boats have made it to the Grand Final at this event. All four of Northeastern’s boats finished at or above their initial seedings for this championship.
In Sunday’s races, the first varsity crew started strong, leading through much of the opening half before being overtaken by Princeton and Harvard. Coxswain Alex Stamas and stroke Krystof Janac helped maintain composure as Northeastern fended off Dartmouth to secure third place and earn a medal for the program after more than ten years without one. The second varsity boat, initially seeded sixth, edged Penn by just 0.006 seconds in its morning heat to qualify for its Grand Final. Despite efforts to catch Syracuse in pursuit of a podium spot during an intense race against Princeton, Harvard, Syracuse, Dartmouth and Brown, Northeastern finished fourth—their best result since 2018.
The third varsity narrowly missed out on a Grand Final spot but won its Petite Final against Boston University by just over one-tenth of a second with Nick Walding as coxswain. The fourth varsity placed second in its Petite Final after being edged out by Brown by only 0.322 seconds following a close contest led by coxswain AJ Hwangbo and stroke Marcus Mantecon.
Looking ahead, Northeastern will compete next at the IRA National Championships beginning Friday, May 29 in Gold River, California.
