All Boats Qualify For A/B Semifinals

SARASOTA, Fla. – All three boats for the Cal women's rowing team advanced to Saturday's A/B semifinals following a strong opening day at the NCAA Championships at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota.

All three boats looked strong in their heats with the V8+ and 2V8+ both earning the automatic qualification for the A/B semifinals by a second-place finish in their respective heats. The V4+ took third in their first race of the day and were forced to punch their ticket to Saturday's semifinals in the repechage later in the afternoon. The V4+ left little drama leading wire-to-wire in their heat to advance.

"Today was a solid opening day for the team," said head coach Al Acosta. "All boasts did what they needed to do to progress to the A/B semifinals. This championship is looking like one of the deepest ever. The heats were all fast and the reps were brutal. Tomorrow is a critical day, but we feel good about the trajectory the team is on and we are looking forward to taking the next big step."

The Bears set the tone early with a strong showing in the V8+. Cal opened out front with Princeton and Michigan with all three boats starting fast. Princeton pushed out front at the 250-meter mark and did not relinquish its lead. Cal matched the Tigers and by the 1500-meter mark had a full boat lead over Michigan for the coveted second spot for the automatic qualifier for the A/B semifinals. Cal crossed the line with a time of 6:12.46, almost four seconds ahead of third-place Michigan and eight seconds faster than Cal's time at the Pac-12 Championships two weeks ago.

In the 2V8+ race, Cal found themselves in fourth after a fast start by Yale, Ohio State, and Rutgers. However, after the 500-meter mark, Cal calmly moved into third and was closing the gap on Ohio State. At 1,000 meters Cal was neck and neck with the Buckeyes. A strong finish by the Bears saw them easily through to the A/B semifinal, edging Ohio State for second place by three seconds with a time of 6:16.85.

In the final race of the morning session, Cal's 4V+ fell behind Ivy league foes Princeton and Brown. At the halfway point, Princeton had open water between the second and third place boats, however, the battle for second came down to the final 10 strokes where Brown held off the hard-charging Bears for the automatic qualification. Cal finished with a time of 7:02.44 – 12 seconds faster than Cal's time at the Pac-12 Championships two weeks ago. In the repechage, Cal jumped out to the early lead and never looked back, edging second-place Rutgers by a full second. The Bears finished with a time of 7:06.85 in their second race of the day.

Cal will return to the water tomorrow morning with the A/B semifinals. The top three finishers from each heat will advance to Sunday's Grand Final. The remaining boats row in the Petit Final. The V8+ will once again lead things off for the Bears, they race at 5:36 a.m. PT. All three races will be streamed live at NCAA.com.

Friday's Results
Varsity Eight

1. Princeton                          6:09.12
2. California                          6:12.46
3. Michigan                           6:18.07
4. Duke                                  6:31.55
5. Gonzaga                           6:39.22

Second Varsity Eight

1. Princeton                          6:12.01
2. California                          6:16.85
3. Ohio State                        6:19.86
4. Rutgers                             6:27.14
5. Gonzaga                           6:58.52

Varsity 4

1. Princeton                          6:54.44
2. Brown                               7:00.28
3. California                          7:02.44
4. Oregon State                    7:18.10
5. Jacksonville                      7:33.94
6. Boston                              7:45.55

Varsity 4 Repechage

1. California                          7:06.86
2. Rutgers                             7:07.66
3. SMU                                   7:12.13
4. Syracuse                           7:19.15
5. Gonzaga                           7:29.86
6. Northeastern                   7:39.25
7. Boston                              7:44.64

 
Friday's Lineups

 
 
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