Two Boats on to Grand Finals

NCAA Championships
Lake Natoma • Gold RIver, Calif.
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Results

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Highlighted by a victory from the varsity eight in its semifinal heat, two Stanford boats advanced to the Grand Final of the NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships during Saturday’s action-packed day of racing at Lake Natoma.

Stanford’s varsity eight and varsity four will each race for a NCAA Championship Sunday morning.

Needing a top-three finish to advance to Sunday’s Grand Final, the Cardinal’s top boat won its semifinal heat, while the varsity four placed third in its semifinal heat. The second varsity eight placed fifth in its semifinal heat and will race in the Petite Final on Sunday.  

Fans can watch Sunday's finals here.

Stanford, the No. 2 seed in the varsity eight, opened its A/B semifinal heat four seats back of Princeton for the lead in the first 250 meters. The Cardinal held a one-seat advantage on Brown for second place as the boats approached 500 meters. Stanford began to make its move, taking water away from Princeton. The Cardinal was within two seats of the Tigers at the midpoint of the course. Stanford pushed its bow ahead of Princeton and into the lead as the boats approached the final 750 meters. In one of the closest races of the NCAA Championships, Stanford won by a deck length with a time of 6:18.911. Brown took second with a time of 6:19.515, .035 ahead of third-place Princeton (6:19.550). The Tigers edged out Texas by .090 for the final spot in the Grand Final.

Stanford will face Princeton, Brown, California, Ohio State and Virginia in Sunday’s NCAA Varsity Eight Grand Final at 11 a.m. PT.

Varsity Eight wins its semifinal heat to advance to the #NCAARow Grand Final tomorrow! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/8fctdggasH

— Stanford Rowing (@StanfordRowing) May 28, 2016

Stanford’s varsity four, the No. 9 seed in the event, opened a one-seat lead on second-place Yale in the first 500 meters of its A/B Semifinal heat. Virginia made an early move to overtake Yale for second and pulled level with the Cardinal at the 750-meter mark. Stanford and Virginia jockeyed for the lead at the midpoint of the course. The Cavaliers moved into the lead and Ohio State pulled level with Stanford for second with 750 meters to go. The Buckeyes overtook the Cardinal in the final 500 meters. Virginia won the heat with a time of 7:12.272, while Ohio State edged out Stanford for second place by .024 (7:13.784 – 7:14.008). All three boats advanced to the Grand Final.

Stanford will face Virginia, Ohio State, California, Michigan and Washington in Sunday’s NCAA Varsity Four Grand Final at 10:12 a.m. PT.   

Varsity Four finishes third in its A/B Semifinal to advance to Sunday's #NCAARow Grand Final #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/0LoXOk0Uqe

— Stanford Rowing (@StanfordRowing) May 28, 2016

The Cardinal second varsity eight, the No. 8 seed in the event, challenged Princeton for third place in the first 500 meters of its A/B Semifinal heat. The Tigers made a move and pulled ahead by five seats at the 750-meter mark. Yale made a move to surge ahead of the Cardinal for fourth place at the midpoint of the course. Stanford tried to take back water from the top four boats over the final sprint, but could not catch the leaders. The Cardinal placed fifth with a time of 6:36.770 and will race in the NCAA Petite Final.

Stanford will face Brown, Yale, Michigan, Wisconsin and Washington in Sunday’s NCAA Second Varsity Eight Petite Final at 10:24 a.m. PT.

Lineups