RESULTS  |  WATCH REPLAY 

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – For the first time since 2011, the Wisconsin women's rowing team will see one of its boats race for a national title as the Badgers' second varsity eight advanced to the Grand Final at the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships on Saturday. Racing took place on Mercer Lake.

"The conditions were beautiful today," head coach Bebe Bryans said. "It was a really beautiful day for rowing and we had solid performances from top to bottom."

The second varsity eight placed third in the second semifinal to reach Sunday's Grand Final, making the national title race for the second time all-time and for the first time since 2006, when the boat finished third.

The Badgers' varsity eight placed sixth in its six-boat semifinal, however the race included four of the top five and five of the top eight seeds. The top four boats each crossed the 2000-meter finish line faster than the winner of the second semifinal.

That result put UW in Sunday's petite final for places 7-12.

Wisconsin's varsity four ended up fifth in its semifinal and will also race in a Sunday petite final.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
The only boat to advance directly to the semifinals on Friday, Wisconsin's second varsity eight followed that up with a top-three finish in its Saturday semifinal to reach the Grand Final. Entering the NCAA championships as the No. 9 seed, UW's second boat clocked 6:30.192 over 2000 meters to knock No. 6 seed Princeton (6:31.972) into the petite final.

The Badgers start was relatively measured, with the crew in fifth place through the first 500 meters or so, though still in touch in a bunched group. Near the 750-meter mark, UW moved up the ladder and into third place by 1250 meters. From there, the Badgers held their ground, taking third by about two-thirds of a boat length over Princeton. 

California won the semifinal in 6:26.279, with Michigan second in 6:28.915. Stanford (6:33.929) and Virginia (6:36.819) rounded out the race.

"The race of the day was absolutely the 2V," Bryans said. "They got off clean, they were in the race, they got challenged pretty hard and they just rose to that occasion. They were able to push through and really establish themselves. That was really exciting.

"It is great to have a boat back in the grand finals. It has been a little bit, so we are really excited about that."

VARSITY EIGHT
In a semifinal race that could easily have been the Grand Final, Wisconsin placed sixth in a time of 6:23.300. The race included top-seeded Washington, which won the race in 6:09.857, as well as No. 2 seed California (6:11.795), third-seeded Texas (6:12.137), fifth-seeded Ohio State (6:12.359) and eighth-seeded Brown (6:21.372). With the Badgers as the No. 16 seed, the finishing order of the first semifinal matched the pre-championship seeding.

The top-four finishers posted times faster than second-semifinal winner Stanford, which clocked a 6:15.430 for 2000 meters.

VARSITY FOUR
The Badgers got a great start off the line and took the lead early in the race, but California took the semifinal in 6:58.482, with Ohio State second in 7:03.802 and Texas third in 7:04.396. Those three crews advanced to the Grand Final, while Stanford (7:09.036), Wisconsin (7:09.932) and Virginia (7:21.699) will go for places 7-12 in Sunday's petite final.

Wisconsin gave up the early lead by 500 meters to California, then slowly fell back to Texas at 750 and to Ohio State by 1000 meters. They were eventually edged at the finish by Stanford and finished in fifth place. 
 
SUNDAY FINALS
The varsity four gets things started for the Badgers on Sunday with the petite final at 9 a.m. CT. They will take on Virginia, Iowa, Stanford, Yale and Syracuse.

Then the second varsity eight will get its shot at a national title at 9:36 a.m. CT. Wisconsin will face Michigan, California, Washington, Ohio State and Brown.

UW closes out its championships with the varsity eight petite final at 9:48 a.m. CT. It will race against Indiana, Virginia, Princeton, Ohio State and Brown for places 7-12.

For the overall team competition, Washington, California and Michigan qualified all three of their crews to Grand Finals, while Texas (varsity eight, varsity four) and Ohio State (second varsity eight, varsity four) each qualified two crews to Grand Finals.

The Badgers are one of five other schools to get a boat into a Grand Final.

"We are the most excited now about seeing what we can do as a team and having everybody just keep that as their focus," Bryans said. "Placing as high as we possibly can in each of their finals and seeing what kind of niche we can create for ourselves as a team. We are looking forward to that tomorrow. Happy to be Badgers."

2017 NCAA Rowing Championships
West Windsor N.J.
Mercer Lake
May 27, 2017
2000 meters

Varsity Eight
Semifinal 1 (Top three to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. Washington, 6:09.857; 2. California, 6:11.795; 3. Texas, 6:12.137; 4. Ohio State, 6:12.359; 5. Brown, 6:21.372; 6. Wisconsin, 6:23.300

UW Lineup - Coxswain Lily Hansen, Callie Hebert, Janie French, Maria Schmid, Lexi Siverling, Maddie Wanamaker, Morganne Freeman, Elisabet Pietz, Dani Steinberg
 
Second Varsity Eight
Semifinal 2 (Top three to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. California, 6:26.279; 2. Michigan, 6:28.915; 3. Wisconsin, 6:30.192; 4. Princeton, 6:31.972; 5. Stanford, 6:33.929; 6. Virginia, 6:36.819

UW Lineup - Coxswain Saylor Martin, Maren Schultz, Renee Olley, Claire Scott, Sarah Gibbons, Cheyenne Brandt, Eliza Clifford, Megan Whitehouse, Monica Gerber
 
Varsity Four
Semifinal 2 (Top three to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. California, 6:58.482; 2. Ohio State, 7:03.802; 3. Texas, 7:04.396; 4. Stanford, 7:09.036; 5. Wisconsin, 7:09.932; 6. Virginia, 7:21.699

UW Lineup - Coxswain Rosie Brezynski, Alison Morrison, Gabby Simons, Kaitlin McKeogh, Marissa Gibson
 
SUNDAY SCHEDULE - WATCH 
Varsity Four Petite Final (Places 7-12) – 9 a.m. CT
Virginia, Iowa, Stanford, Yale, Wisconsin, Syracuse

Second Eight Grand Final – 9:36 a.m. CT
Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Washington, Ohio State, Brown

Varsity Eight Petite Final (Places 7-12) – 9:48 a.m. CT
Indiana, Virginia, Princeton, Ohio State, Brown, Wisconsin