The UW men’s crew made a powerful statement at the first day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships yesterday in Rancho Cordova, Calif., winning all five heats in which it competed.

This dominating start to the IRAs puts the Dawgs in an excellent position for the rest of the regatta, as every boat except for the varsity eight advances straight to the finals on Saturday. Members of the varsity eight were able to save their breath for the semifinals today, as their first-place finish allowed them to skip the repechage races that took place yesterday afternoon.

“Racing went as well as we could have hoped today,” head coach Michael Callahan told gohuskies.com. “Placing four of five boats in the final is a solid first step.”

Facing a tough heat, which included last year’s champion, Wisconsin, the Huskies’ top boat got off to a fast start in the first 500 meters on its way to a nearly six-second victory over the second-place Badgers. Today’s semifinals will be an even greater test for the UW, as its time of 5:57.00 was only the sixth-best of the four varsity heats.

“The varsity will have a highly contested semifinal tomorrow,” Callahan said. “It’s very fun to have the prominent programs from around the country racing here on the West Coast for the national title.”

The second varsity boat proved to be worthy of the top overall seed in its group as it put together the best time out of the 14 boats competing. Challenged by Harvard early in the race, the Dawgs pulled away for a comfortable victory over the second-place Crimson.

Coming into the race with no losses in the season, the men’s freshman eight demolished the competition, winning its heat by more than 12 seconds. The Huskies’ time of 5:58.10 made them the only freshman boat to finish in fewer than six minutes.

“Today was a solid first race for the freshmen,” freshman coach Lucas McGee told gohuskies.com. “It was a workman-like piece with the guys taking care of business to advance to Saturday’s final. They are staying focused on having their best performance in their final race of the year.”

The Huskies also competed in the open four and varsity four heats, winning both to finish off the sweep for the day. In the varsity race, the Huskies battled neck-and-neck with California the entire way down the course, finishing so close together that the winner was determined by a photo finish. In the end, it was announced that the Dawgs edged the Bears by a mere tenth of a second.

The only boat rowing for the UW today is the varsity eight, as the first varsity boat must advance through semifinals to reach the finals. Facing tough competition including Stanford, which beat them in the Pac-10 championships, and Ivy League powerhouses Brown and Cornell, the Huskies will have to finish in the top three of the six-boat race to move on to the finals.

Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.