May 25, 2012

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2012 NCAA Rowing Championships Mercer Lake • West Windsor, N.J. Distance: 2 Kilometers

Varsity Eight: Heat 3, Repechage 1. Ohio State 6:49.85 2. California 6:52.19 3. Princeton 6:53.48 4. Wisconsin 7:00.46 5. Notre Dame 7:04.44 6. Stanford 7:11.59 ---- 1. Stanford 6:47.31 2. Cornell 6:50.28 3. Yale 6:51.55 4. Michigan State 6:51.55 5. Brown 6:52.46 6. Wisconsin 6:54.30 7. Notre Dame 7:07.98  Second Varsity Eight: Heat 1, Repechage 1. California 6:52.49 2. UCLA 6:54.50 3. Brown 6:55.22 4. Wisconsin 6:56.49 5. USC 7:01.65 ---- 1. USC 7:00.09 2. Wisconsin 7:00.87 3. Stanford 7:01.06 4. Notre Dame 7:01.08 5. Cornell 7:04.42 6. Harvard 7:05.55 7. Michigan State 7:16.24  Varsity Four: Heat 3 1. Ohio State 7:19.94 2. Yale 7:25.73 3. Wisconsin 7:28.88 4. Notre Dame 7:32.14 5. USC 7:40.16 6. Brown 7:42.79  Wisconsin Women's Rowing Online • @BadgerRowing on Twitter • Wisconsin Women's Rowing on Facebook • U.S. Cellular Text Alerts  |  Mobile UW App • InsideBadgerSports.com

WEST WINDSOR, N.J.-- The Wisconsin women's rowing team advanced two of its three boats to the semifinals at the NCAA Rowing Championships Friday on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.

A heavy fog, inconsistent winds and light, intermittent rain during the heat races in the morning gave way to sun and warm temperatures for crews racing in the afternoon repechages. The weather on the first day of the national championship race resulted in some abnormal times among heats and events, but it didn't deter the Badgers from sending two boats to Saturday's semifinals.

The varsity four qualified with a third-place finish in its heat, while the second varsity eight advanced with a second-place finish in the repechage after finishing fourth in its heat. Both boats race Saturday morning in the semifinals, while the first varsity eight races in the third final on Sunday after finishing sixth in the repechage.

In the first varsity eight, Wisconsin fell to Ohio State, California and Princeton in its heat, finishing fourth with a time of 7:00.46. The Badgers got off to a quick start, but fell behind the three leaders, who finished within four seconds of each other. UW held off a late push by Notre Dame and finished nearly seven seconds out of third, sending them to the afternoon repechage race.

Wisconsin finished sixth in the repechage with a time of 6:54.30. The Badgers got off to a fast start, and were among the leaders in the first stretch of the race. UW kept it close, but was unable to keep the lead. Stanford finished first, seven seconds ahead of the Badgers. With the top three boats advancing to the semifinals, second-place Cornell and Wisconsin were separated by just four seconds. Yale earned the final semifinal berth.

"We are disappointed with the outcome, but they went for it and gave it all they had," head coach Bebe Bryans said. "We came up a bit short today, and that's the way it goes sometimes."

The second varsity eight finished fourth in its heat after a dramatic sprint at the finish that saw the gap between the top four teams close to just four seconds at the finish line. The Badgers finished in 6:56.49, four seconds behind heat-winner California, and 1.27 seconds behind third-place Brown, who claimed the final spot in the semifinals.

In the repechage, the fight for one of the top three finishes was as close as it gets, but the Badgers hung on for a second-place finish in 7:00.87. The top four teams each finished within 0.99 seconds of each other, with USC's crew claiming victory. The Trojans finished 0.72 seconds ahead of Wisconsin, while third-place Stanford and Notre Dame finished closely behind, separated by just 0.02 seconds.

"They had two really good races today," Bryans said. "They learned from the first race and were able to be more effective in the second, so that sets them up for a good strong race tomorrow, and we're pretty confident in their ability to go."

In the fours, Wisconsin finished third, automatically advancing them directly to Saturday's semifinal races. UW and Ohio State were neck-and-neck for the first half of the race before the Badgers were passed by Yale and the Buckeyes opened up a lead. Wisconsin maintained position, fighting off Notre Dame with a perfectly-timed sprint to finish in 7:28.88. Ohio State claimed victory in 7:19.94, nearly six seconds ahead of Yale.

"We really had a good race," Bryans said. "We were really steady and solid and were able to put together a good sprint at the end to stay ahead of Notre Dame. They earned the right to not race in the repechage."

Racing continues Saturday with the semifinals of the NCAA Rowing Championship. The second varsity eight races in the first semifinal at 8:30 a.m. CT. The Badgers will race Brown, Virginia, California, Princeton and USC. In the varsity four, the Badgers race in the second semifinal at 9:15 against Cornell, UCLA, Ohio State, Virginia and Princeton. The first varsity eight races on Sunday in the third final at 9:30.

"There'll be good races tomorrow," Bryans said. "We still have a shot of advancing to the grand final and that's been our goal all along."

Wisconsin Lineups:

1st Varsity Eight
Coxswain: Kendall Schmidt, Jacquelyn Koykkar, Kate Mansfield, Monica Whitehouse, Vanessa Kleiss,  Amy Slesar, Katelyn Swanson, Rachel Buchholtz, Hanna Lynch

2nd Varsity Eight
Coxswain: Jane Roberts, Hayley Leinss, Lauren Pietila, Leah Gustafson, Jena Wilder, Cathy Randle, Caitlin Mueller, Sophie Heywood, Katherine Hanes

Varsity Four
Coxswain: Clare Chandler, Kaitlin Dunn, Charlotte Keleske, Shannon Hoffman, Carly Orwin