May 25, 2012
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Stanford women's rowing completed a busy first day at the NCAA Championships Friday on Lake Mercer, with the I and II Eights earning semifinal berths in the afternoon repechages. The Four, however, failed to advance in its repechage.
The I and II Eights will race in their respective semifinals Saturday morning. The I Eight races in the first of its class' semifinals at 6 a.m. PT, while the II Eight goes off in its class' second semifinal at 6:45 a.m. PT.
The top three boats in each of the class' two six-boat semifinals advances to Sunday's Grand Finals, while the bottom three of each race move to Sunday's Petite Finals.
The Four next races in Sunday morning's Third Final, which determines places 13-16, at 6:50 a.m. PT.
The Cardinal I Eight bounced back from a rough morning heat to win the afternoon's repechage and earn its semifinal spot. In the morning, the Cardinal finished last in the third qualifying heat with a time of 7:11.59.
Racing from the seventh lane in the repechage, the Cardinal stayed in the lead pack, inching into the lead by the halfway point. Over the final 1,000 meters, Stanford held its position over the next five boats in the chasing pack, crossing the line in 6:47.31, three seconds ahead of runner-up Cornell.
The I Eight will face off against Cornell, Harvard, USC, Virginia and California in Saturday's semifinal.
The II Eight finished fourth in Friday morning's qualifying heat, clocking a 7:00.59 and missing out on an automatic semifinal berth by three seconds. Yet the boat rebounded in the afternoon, finishing third in the repechage to claim the final spot in the next round.
The II Eight's semifinal spot was clinched in the day's most exciting finish, as just 4.39 seconds separated the first- through fifth-place boats. USC won the repechage in 7:00.09, with Wisconsin next at 7:00.87 and the Cardinal just 0.19 of a second behind the Badgers. Stanford held off Notre Dame for the final semifinal spot by mere fractions of a second, crossing the line just two-hundredths of a second ahead of the Fighting Irish.
The Cardinal II Eight will row in Saturday's second semifinal against Washington, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA and Yale.
Like the II Eight, the Cardinal Four finished fourth in its morning qualifying heat, one place out of the semifinal cut-off. The Four crossed in 7:30.89, nine seconds behind UCLA for third place.
In the afternoon's second-chance race, the Four was in the mix early, but could not make up the water between it and third place. The Cardinal crossed the line fifth in 8:02.48, just over 10 seconds behind Cornell, which claimed the third and final semifinal spot.
Stanford LineupsI Eight: Jenna Levy (c), Sarah Bolmer, Kristy Wentzel, Caitlin Byrnes, Amanda Lorei, Erin Radigan, Daphne Martschenko, Christina Bax, Alison Fauci
II Eight: Naomi Cornman (c), Marielle Higgins, Chelsea Shannon, Alix Chrumka, Claire Grover, Chierika Ukogu, Courtney Carrabino, Kayla Cornale, Julianna Kapjian-Pitt
Four: Katie Lopez (c), Anne Osborn, Elsa Brown, Valerie Frank, Rebeca Felix
Spares: Shanique Martin, Nancy Miles