May 28, 2011
Photo Gallery 
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - Wisconsin advanced its varsity four to Sunday’s national championship race, while its varsity eight and second varsity eight moved on to Sunday’s petite finals on the second day of racing at the 2011 NCAA Rowing Championships. Saturday's racing took place on Lake Natoma.
“I think we raced well today,” said Head Coach Bebe Bryans. “We weren’t brilliant. In order to advance all the way to the top, you need to be brilliant. All three boats raced well, but I think there’s more there. Whether brilliance would have carried the day today, we don’t know the answer to that. So tomorrow is our day to be brilliant.”
With relatively cool temperatures in the low 50s and under cloudy skies, the day started with the varsity eight semifinals for the Badgers. Racing in a heat that included varsity eights from four of the top five ranked teams, the Badgers crossed the line in sixth with a time of 6:41.46. USC used a late charge over the last 500 meters to pass Princeton and hand the Tigers their first loss of the year to win the heat. USC won in 6:26.60, with Princeton second in 6:28.34. California earned the third and final spot from the heat in Sunday’s national championship race with a 6:31.04 over 2000 meters. Washington and Virginia took places four and five and will join the Badgers in the petite final.
The second varsity eight will also race in Sunday’s petite final after taking fifth in its semifinal. This time Stanford claimed top honor with a 6:36.04, while California (6:40.25) and Ohio State (6:43.89) also advanced to the grand final. The Badgers’ time of 6:49.01 gave them fifth in the seven-boat semifinal.
The heat had one extra entry after boat-weighing issues were resolved from Friday. Washington State originally qualified through the repechage, but came in underweight and was relegated. However, the NCAA determined the scale malfunctioned and added Washington State to the semifinals.
UW’s top performance of the day came in the varsity four. The Badgers qualified for the NCAA championship race with a second-place finish in its semifinal. Virginia won in 7:31.22, with the Badgers taking second in 7:36.81. Stanford also reached the final by taking third in a time of 7:39.27.
“We’ve got really talented people who like to rise to this occasion,” said Bryans. “What the four is proving is that if you have a certain expectation of excellence, you can reach that expectation. I think that is starting to bleed into the other boats.
“We’ve still got a ways to go at the varsity eight level. The speed up there is pretty remarkable, but our depth is showing in the strength of our lower boats and and I think we’ve made some really good strides in the varsity eight here, as well. We’re following in the four’s footsteps and I think they are set out to do really well again tomorrow.”
In addition to Virginia and Stanford, Wisconsin will face California, USC and Washington for the varsity four national title.
“The good news is we have very high expectations for ourselves,” concluded Bryans. “We don’t want to settle for anything less than what our best performance is, so tomorrow we are going to be looking to improve upon what we did last year. We believe that is absolutely within the realm of possibility. It just adds a little bit more excitement to the day. Whatever our brilliant best is, that is what we are looking for. I am really confident that our brilliant best will bring us a better result.”
At the 2010 NCAA Rowing Championships, Wisconsin placed seventh as a team. Led by the varsity four’s third-place finish, Wisconsin also took seventh in the second varsity eight, while reaching the petite finals for the first time in seven tries in the varsity eight. There, Wisconsin earned 10th place overall, which got it the then-unprecedented result.
Racing on Sunday begins for the Badgers at 12:25 p.m. CT with the grand final of the varsity four. Wisconsin’s second varsity eight will race at 12:55 p.m. CT in the petite final, while the varsity eight races at 1:45 p.m. CT in the petite final for places seven through 12.
Follow along via live stats at jamcotimes.com, or watch the live video stream online at NCAA.com.
2011 NCAA Rowing Championships
Lake Natoma
Gold River, Calif.
2000 meters
May 28, 2011
Varsity Eight
Semifinal 1 (Top three to grand final, rest to petite final)
1. USC, 6:26.60; 2. Princeton, 6:28.34; 3. California, 6:31.04; 4. Washington, 6:37.37; 5. Virginia, 6:37.91; 6. Wisconsin, 6:41.46
UW Lineup – Coxswain Kendall Schmidt, Rachel Buchholtz, Hayley Leinss, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Lisa Godhardt, Caitlin Mueller, Katelyn Swanson, Anna Schettle, Vanessa Kleiss
Second Varsity Eight
Semifinal 2 (Top three to grand final, rest to petite final)
1. Stanford, 6:36.04; 2. California, 6:40.25; 3. Ohio State, 6:43.89; 4. Washington, 6:47.34; 5. Wisconsin, 6:49.01; 6. Washington State, 6:50.05; 7. Yale, 6:53.99
UW Lineup – Coxswain Jane Roberts, Amy Slesar, Lauren Pietila, Kate Mansfield, Margaret Yale, Hanna Lynch, Briana Pittman, Rebekah Foelker, Kirsten Morelli
Varsity Four
Semifinal 2 (Top three to grand final, rest to petite final)
1. Virginia, 7:31.22; 2. Wisconsin, 7:36.81; 3. Stanford, 7:39.27; 4. Ohio State, 7:43.04; 5. Washington State, 7:45.83; 6. Yale, 7:52.41
UW Lineup – Coxswain Clare Chandler, Mollie Kryka, Shannon Hoffman, Shannon Schlack, Katherine Hanes
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Varsity Eight (1:45 p.m. CT)
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
Yale, Washington, Washington State, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin
Second Varsity Eight (12:55 p.m. CT)
Petite Final (Places 7-13)
Washington, Princeton, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington State, Yale
Varsity Four (12:25 p.m. CT)
Grand Final
Virginia, California, Wisconsin, USC, Washington, Stanford
