IRAs see Eastern influx

"It's a novelty," says Harvard heavyweight coach Harry Parker. "A big change, obviously."

There's a big change, too, in the number of legitimate contenders for the Varsity Challenge Cup, the de facto national title. "There are multiple crews that could win," reckons Northeastern coach John Pojednic, whose varsity was fourth last year. "There are six that could medal and nine or 10 that could be in the final."

That's a dramatic departure from the way it was until relatively recently, when California and Harvard ruled for eight straight seasons. "Other years, we had a good idea who the national champion would be in March," says Pojednic.

Now, it's anybody's guess. "Usually, you can pick out one or two or three favorites," muses Parker, whose boat is seeded third behind Cal and Stanford after missing last year's final. "That's harder to do this year. You have to go down six or seven at least."

Form charts have meant little in a season when the top seeds finished third in both the Eastern Sprints and Pac-10 championships and Sprint champion Brown was dunked by Boston University last week. "That wasn't an accident," observes MIT coach Tony Kilbridge.

This has been the best spring for the Charles River crews since 2005, when Harvard won its third straight IRA crown and Northeastern and BU both made the six-boat final. Those three all are seeded among the top nine and MIT, Henley-bound and enjoying its best run in decades, is ranked 15th ahead of the likes of Princeton and Penn.

The most startling splash has been made by BU, which had been dog-paddling in the backwash for three seasons until new coach (and Olympic medalist) Tom Bohrer arrived. "My message to the guys is, we have everything we need right now to have a good season," says Bohrer. "Don't wait until next year."

That's the theme for the top half-dozen seeds, all of whom have a shot to take the trophy on Saturday afternoon. "This year it's wide open," says Wisconsin coach Chris Clark, whose defending champions are ranked fourth ahead of Washington and Brown after their Sprints tumble. "Everybody's going to be close."

Cal, directed by former Olympic coach Mike Teti, edged Stanford by only three-10ths of a second for the Pac-10 crown in near 100-degree heat on Natoma, while Brown overtook Harvard by little more than a second at windy Worcester. With Saturday's forecast calling for favorable conditions - temperatures in the mid-70s and a modest breeze - all six finalists could be within a few strokes of each other. This year, merely getting to the grand final will be an achievement. "People are going to have to race very well and navigate their way through the regatta," says Pojednic.

The ninth-seeded Huskies, grouped with Cal and eighth-ranked Cornell, will have a challenge just to advance out of their heat. Harvard will be facing Brown for the fourth time while seventh-seeded BU is up against Stanford and Columbia, two of last year's finalists, as well as MIT. "I don't know what to expect," says Kilbridge, whose 2-man David Jenicek is staying behind to graduate tomorrow. "I'm optimistic, but we'll see."

Nobody knows what to expect this weekend. This many Easterners haven't turned up in Sacramento at the same time since the 1849 gold rush. This time they have oars instead of pickaxes and the gold they're seeking will be draped around victorious necks.

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.