WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- The first varsity eight won a bronze medal and the Bates men's rowing team took third place overall in the D3 points standings Saturday morning at the IRA National Championship regatta.

"I am really happy with the guys today," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "Both crews competed at their very best and they fought all the way to the line."

This marks the second year the IRA has held a D3 race for smaller schools, and the first time the D3 competition has featured both the first varsity eight and the second varsity eight. The two Bates crews combined for 44 points, third-most out of eight entrants. NESCAC schools took the top five spots in the final standings. Williams won the national title with 54 points and Wesleyan came in second with 50 points. Trinity finished behind Bates in the overall standings, as did Tufts, with 42 and 36 points respectively.

In the first varsity eight grand final, senior coxswain Aidan Braithwaite (Milton, Mass.) and first-year stroke George Fauver (Bedford, N.Y.) led the Bobcats down the 2K course on Mercer Lake in 6:37.971, nearly grabbing a silver medal as Wesleyan edged Bates for second in 6:37.899. Nevertheless, the Bobcats picked up the first medal in program history at IRAs, beating fourth-place Trinity (6:40.095) by just under three seconds. Williams won the 1V grand final in 6:32.401.

In the second varsity eight grand final, sophomore coxswain Isabel Beck (Montclair, N.J.) and sophomore stroke Ian Van Loo (Seattle, Wash.) led the Bobcats to a fourth-place showing, racing to the finish in 6:49.730. The Bobcats just missed a bronze medal, with Trinity taking third in 6:48.946. Williams won the 2V grand final in 6:39.926. 

With just four seniors graduating out of the 21 Bobcats who went to nationals this year, the future is very bright for the men's rowing team.

"I can't thank the seniors enough for all they've done this year and over their entire time as Bobcats," Steenstra said, "Aidan Braithwaite, Samuel Marchman, Timothy Bates, and Benjamin MacDonald are great teammates, leaders and competitors and they're leaving behind a legacy of hard work, purpose and passion."

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Benjamin MacDonald; 2: Sean Christiansen; 3: Luke Desmaison; 4: Benjamin Auerbach; 5: Oliver Firmenich; 6: Isaac Levinger; 7: Charlie Berman; Stroke: George Fauver; c: Aidan Braithwaite

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: Riley Young; 2: Andrew Frey; 3: Samuel Marchman; 4: Charles Renvyle; 5: Timothy Bates; 6: Conor McGuckin; 7: Kelly McKaige; Stroke: Ian Van Loo; c: Isabel Beck

Spares: William Conway, Jack Stephenson, Micah Shimizu (cox)