WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- The Bates men's rowing team got the IRA National Championship Regatta started on Friday, with the first varsity eight finishing in the top three of their heat, good for a spot in Saturday's grand final.

"The guys did what needed to be done on day one," head coach Peter Steenstra said. "Both eights have favorable lanes for Saturday's finals and the boys are ready to race."

The Bates 1V competed in their four-crew heat at 10:30 in the morning, racing to the finish in 6:06.487, trailing runner-up Tufts (5:57.024) and heat winner Wesleyan (5:54.597). But the Bobcats were well-ahead of fourth-place Milwaukee School of Engineering, as the newcomers to IRAs crossed the finish line in 6:27.887.

The Bobcats will compete for the D3 national championship Saturday at 12:10 pm against Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Tufts, and the Coast Guard Academy.

Meanwhile, the Bates second varsity eight competed in a "race for lanes" at 10:50 am on Friday, finishing sixth in 6:19.028. So the Bobcats will be in lane one in their 12 pm grand final Saturday against Trinity, Tufts, Williams, Wesleyan, and Ithaca. 

While the 1V and 2V eights only competed against D3 schools on Friday, the Bates varsity four took on the entire field in a morning time trial. The Bobcats clocked in at 6:35.146, good for 29th place out of 34 crews. That put them in the fifth-level semi-final, where the Bobcats finished in sixth place in 6:44.018, just behind MIT (6:43.221) and Navy (6:42.178). The Bobcats will compete Saturday in the sixth-level final at 10:30 am, when they take on RIT, Trinity, and Iona. 

Bates MV8 lineup: Bow: Luke Desmaison; 2: Sean Christiansen; 3: Charlie Berman; 4: Conor McGuckin; 5: Lando Putnam-Bagley; 6: Isaac Levinger; 7: Brendan Kelly; Stroke: George Fauver; c: Izzy Beck

Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow: Riley Young; 2: Ian Van Loo; 3: Jimmy Staller; 4: Nick Hoerle; 5: Oliver Firmenich; 6: Charles Renvyle; 7: Luke Johnson; Stroke: Andrew Frey; c: Darien Chiang

Bates MV4 lineup: Bow: Leo Sullivan; 2: Hugh McCabe; 3: Ben Auerbach; Stroke: Kelly McKaige; c: Micah Shimizu