Varsity Eight Advance To Grand Finals

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Cal women's rowing team will have a boat in the Grand Finals of the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Bear's varsity eight captured third in their heat with the fourth-fastest time of all the boats that will advance to tomorrow's final. Cal's second varsity and varsity four will compete in the Petite Finals.

"Although we didn't qualify all our boats for the A final, the team raced hard today," said head coach Al Acosta. "I'm confident that the four and the second eight have more boat speed and will continue to fight to score as many points for the team as possible. The first eight did a great job qualifying for the A finals. I think they learned a lot about how to finish a race today. We're looking forward to seeing them and the team as a whole take another big step tomorrow."

Battling tricky conditions with slight rain showers impacting half the race, the V8+ settled into a good rhythm after the first 500 meters. Texas jumped out to the early lead, but the race for second and third was a battle between Brown, Cal, and Ohio State. At the 750-meter mark, Cal pulled ahead of Ohio State and had a one-second advantage at the halfway point. Cal battled with Brown for the second spot, but could not overcome the Bears and edged Ohio State by four-tenths of a second for the coveted third spot with a time of 6:23.03 to advance to Sunday's Grand Final.

The early morning rain let up for the second varsity, and the boats took advantage. Washington and Texas jumped out to the early lead and took hold of first and second with Texas overtaking the Huskies at the end to win the heat. The battle for third was between Princeton, Brown, and the Bears. Princeton took control of third after the first 500-meters with Brown just behind and Cal two seats back. After the midway point, the Bears began a run but could not overtake Brown or Princeton for the third spot and finished in fifth with a time of 6:34.38. Cal will advance to Sunday's Petite Final.

In the V4+ race, the top three of Stanford, Princeton, and Ohio State jumped out to a big lead by the halfway point. The Bears finished in fifth five seconds back of Yale, but a full boat length ahead of sixth-place USC, finishing with a time of 7:25.48.

Sunday's schedule will begin with the 4V+ at 6:22 a.m. PT. The 2V8+ race is slated to begin at 6:46 a.m. PT with the V8+ in the Grand Final scheduled to go off at 7:24 a.m. PT.

Saturday's Results
V8+
1. Texas - 6:18.45
2. Brown - 6:22.99
3. California - 6:23.03
4. Ohio State - 6:23.48
5. Penn - 6:33.71
6. SMC - 6:39.06
 
2V8+
1. Texas - 6:23.87
2. Washington - 6:25.19
3. Princeton - 6:27.95
4. Brown - 6:32.29
5. California - 6:34.38
6. Penn - 6:37.51
 
V4+
1. Stanford - 7:08.58
2. Princeton - 7:12.44
3. Ohio State - 7:15.76
4. Yale - 720.84
5. California - 7:25.48
6. USC - 7:29.25

Saturday's Lineups

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