ITHACA, N.Y. - Ahead of the 2026 IRA National Championships, the Ithaca College men's rowing team travels to Lake Natoma carrying momentum from another historic spring campaign. The Bombers captured their third consecutive Liberty League Championship earlier this month, sweeping all contested events and continuing the program's rise on the national stage. Ithaca earned the Liberty League's automatic qualification to the IRA National Championship and enters the weekend with both the varsity eight and second varsity eight seeded eighth nationally.
Throughout the spring, the varsity eight has consistently shown it can race with the nation's top crews. At the Remley Cup in Worcester, Massachusetts, Ithaca battled closely with nationally ranked opponents including Trinity, Colby, Marietta, and WPI, putting together one of its strongest regular season performances of the year. The Bombers continued to build speed and confidence throughout the championship segment of the season, culminating in another Liberty League title.
"We've had a long stretch since our last race, but the group has handled it really well," said Ithaca head coach
Justin Stangel. "It's given our student-athletes the opportunity to finish the academic year strongly while also allowing us time to fine tune our speed and preparation heading into the national championship. The team has stayed focused, motivated, and excited for the opportunity ahead."
Racing begins Friday morning in Sacramento, California, with both Ithaca crews competing in Heat 1 of their respective events. The first varsity eight is scheduled to race at 10:08 a.m. PST against top-seeded Wesleyan, No. 4 Tufts, and No. 5 Bates. The second varsity eight follows at 10:24 a.m. PST in Heat 1 against No. 1 Tufts, No. 4 Wesleyan, and No. 5 Bates.
Lineups
Fans can follow the action all weekend through the official livestream and results pages:
Live Stream:
Overnght Livestream
Results:
IRA Championship Results
