June 1, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Two University of Virginia boats advanced to the finals at the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships after competition on Saturday (June 1) at Eagle Creek Reservoir. Virginia’s varsity four and second varsity eight crews will compete in the finals on Sunday (June 2), and UVa’s first varsity eight crew will compete in the petite final based on their performances on Saturday. The competition concludes on Sunday.
The Cavaliers’ varsity four crew won its repechage heat on Saturday. Virginia came from behind in the last 500 meters of the 2000-meter race to defeat Michigan by seven tenths of a second. UVa trailed Michigan by just over two seconds after 1500 meters. The Cavaliers finished with a time of 7:37.30 and Michigan was second at 7:38.00. California-Berkeley finished third (7:43.11) followed by Ohio State (7:46.60) and Syracuse (7:51.73).
The Virginia and Michigan crews advance to the finals in the varsity four where they will compete against Brown, Harvard, Michigan State and Yale.
UVa’s varsity four crew was comprised of coxswain Lauren Richards, Katie Yrazabal, Kelley Jesnig, Mary Dobmeier and Jessica Busch.
The Cavaliers’ second varsity eight finished second in its repechage heat. The Cavaliers led Michigan State by just over a second after the first 1500 meters of the race, but the Spartans rallied in the last 500 meters to edge Virginia. Michigan State finished with a time of 6:56.90 and UVa had a time of 6:57.48. Ohio State finished third (7:01.67) followed by Harvard (7:03.97) and Stanford (7:12.34).
The Michigan State and Virginia crews advance to the finals in the second varsity eight where they will compete against Brown, Michigan, Washington and Yale.
Virginia’s second varsity eight crew was made up of coxswain Betty Shumaker, Hayley Nunn, Tammy Clark, Claudia Durkin, Julie McQueen, Genevieve Cauchon-Voyer, Carolyn McMillan, Risa Mandzuk and Emily Richard.
UVa’s first varsity eight finished fifth in its semifinal heat. Washington won the heat with a time of 6:47.72 followed by California-Berkeley (6:52.04), Ohio State (6:52.48), Yale (6:54.17), Virginia (7:02.27) and Syracuse (7:06.91).
The Washington, California-Berkeley and Ohio State crews advance to the finals of the first varsity eight along with Brown, Princeton and Stanford from the second semifinal heat. Virginia will compete for places 7-12 in the petite final of the first varsity eight against crews from Harvard, Michigan, Southern California, Syracuse and Yale.
The Cavaliers’ first varsity eight crew was comprised of coxswain Sarah Brennan, Kelley Dougherty, Meg Van Dam, Catelyn Coyle, Lauren Mitterer, Molly Baker, Madeline Engel, Jennifer Reck and Amanda Kennedy.
UVa has finished in the top seven in the team competition at each of the five previous NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships. The Cavaliers finished fourth in 1997, third in 1998, second in 1999, third in 2000 and seventh in 2001.