INDIANAPOLIS – Wins in C/D semifinals for the varsity eight and varsity four highlighted the second day of the 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships for the Wisconsin women's rowing program on Saturday.

Racing at Eagle Creek Park, with an altered schedule due to debris, and altered lanes due to the speed of water flow, the Badgers varsity eight beat out Duke by just under 0.2 seconds to claim victory in their C/D semifinal. The top three finishers in the race made the C final, which races for places 13-18 on Sunday.

UW's second varsity eight, the one boat racing in an A/B semifinal, crossed the finish line sixth and will race in Sunday's petite final in the event for places seven through 12.

The varsity four cruised to a victory in their C/D semifinal, clocking 7:45.587 over 2000 meters and finishing more than seven seconds over second-place UCF. UW will race for places 14-18 in the event C final. A Friday protest added an extra school into the A/B semifinals, which means a seventh crew in the petite final, and one less place than normal up for grabs in the C final.
 
Sunday Tentative Schedule (CT) - WATCH
Second Varsity Eight Petite Final (Places 7-12) – 8:20 a.m.
Varsity Eight C Final (Places 13-18) – 9:50 a.m.
Varsity Four C Semifinal (Places 13-18) – 10:30 a.m.

Straight from the Lake
Head Coach Bebe Bryans
"Today was a good day for us. All three boats were on a mission to improve upon their performances from yesterday, which is pretty normal, but under these circumstances that doesn't always happen. Today they really stepped up.

"Everybody always looks a little bit better when they are racing from the front, but we actually were rowing better in the four and the varsity eight. Both of those boats, especially in the first 1000 meters, executed really well.

"The 2V struggled a little bit in the wind and I think they are looking forward to having that better race tomorrow in the Petite Final.

"Everybody did what they were supposed to do, everybody pretty much did what they hoped to do, so we set ourselves up well for a good run tomorrow."

2019 NCAA Rowing Championships
June 1, 2019
Eagle Creek Park
Indianapolis
2000 meters

Varsity Eight
C/D Semifinals (Top three advance to Sunday C final, rest to D final)
1. Wisconsin, 6:48.981; 2. Duke, 6:49.170; 3. UCF, 7:01.076; 4. Rhode Island, 7:03.225; 5. Northeastern, 7:03.878
UW Lineup - Coxswain Saylor Martin, Alicia Evans, Eliza Clifford, Lauren O'Connor, Sarah Gibbons, Isa Darvin, Katherine Grose, Allie Lohrenz, Renee Olley

Second Varsity Eight
A/B Semifinals (Top three advance to Sunday Grand Final, rest to Petite Final)
1. Stanford, 6:51.761; 2. Michigan, 6:63.932; 3. Virginia, 6:57.927; 4. Brown, 6:59.247; 5. Princeton, 7:05.198; 6. Wisconsin, 7:14.393
UW Lineup - Coxswain Emma Smith, Elisabet Pietz, Makayla Stow, Grace Joyce, Kaylee Steeno, Adrienne Kisting, Taylor Caudle, Charlotte Melcher, Rebekah Armstrong

Varsity Four
C/D Semifinals (Top three advance to Sunday C final, rest to D final)
1. Wisconsin, 7:45.587; 2. UCF, 7:52.694; 3. Rhode Island, 8:08.716; 4. Harvard, 8:17.371; 5. Gonzaga, 8:21.531
UW Lineup - Maggie Mandarano, Elizabeth Clarke, Niamh Martin, Becca Kite, Carissa Witthuhn