Men's rowing doesn't receive at-large bid

After a third-place team finish and fourth-place finish in the Varsity 8 race at the Pac-10 championships, the Oregon State University men's rowing team did not secure an at-large bid to nationals, ending their season.The Intercollegiate Rowing Association announced the at-large bids Tuesday.

"Finishing third as a team is a good step, it shows that we've developed some depth on the squad," said Oregon State head coach Steve Todd.

The decision came down to Oregon State and the University of Pennsylvania for the last at-large spot and the selection committee chose Penn, he said.

"Our top-end speed was not enough.we didn't contend for the automatic qualifying spots at Pac-10s and our fourth-place finish in the V8 left it up to a committee to decide if we got the invite," Todd said.

"We are pretty disappointed to miss out on the IRA this year; it was the team's goal all year to return to the championships and shoot for a top-12 finish," he said.

At the Pac-10 championships, the Beavers' Freshman 8 and Varsity 4 crews each finished third in the conference while the Junior Varsity 8 finished fourth in their race.

"The Freshman and the Varsity 4 both had strong races and put themselves into the medals," Todd said. "The Varsity 8 and JV 8 raced hard and really put out the effort, but in the end they didn't keep with the top-end speed of the conference."

Now the team is looking ahead to the 2012 season and assessing what they can do better for next year.

Todd said, "Hopefully, this taste of disappointment serves to keep the guys hungry for next year."

Anna Willard, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com