No. 4 UVa Wins Its Three Heats On Day One of NCAAs

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CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Virginia won all three of its heats on the first day of the 2009 NCAA Championships on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., on Friday. The Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four all advanced to their respective semifinal races Saturday. Those semifinals can be accessed with the link above for live streaming video.

Virginia’s Varsity Eight will compete in the 9 a.m. semifinal on Saturday, against Washington, Clemson, Stanford, Brown and Michigan. The other semifinal (9:15 a.m.) features Ohio State, Michigan State, Yale, California, Princeton and USC.

“I’m pleased with our start,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “But that is what it is – a start. We’ve got to keep it going.”

UVa’s Varsity Eight, currently ranked No. 4 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), led at the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meter marks of its race before finishing strong with a first-place time of 6:29.51.

The crew of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke edged second-place Princeton (6:31.49) and third-place Clemson (6:32.57). Those three teams advanced to the semifinals, along with California, Brown, Michigan State, Stanford, Yale and Washington from earlier heats. In the afternoon repechage, USC, Ohio State and Michigan qualified for the semifinals.

The Second Varsity Eight, meanwhile, also won its heat by a significant margin. The crew of coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper and Susie Chalker won the race with a time of 6:43.99. Washington (6:48.30) was second, followed by third-place Ohio State (6:52.27).

Virginia’s Second Varsity Eight competes in the 9:30 a.m. semifinal, along with USC, Yale, Brown, Michigan and Ohio State.

The Varsity Four (coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson) trailed its race at the 500-meter mark but fought back at the halfway point to take the lead. Finishing strong, the crew won with a time of 7:31.29, edging second-place California (7:33.94) and third-place Harvard (7:34.98).

UVa’s Varsity Four will compete in the 10 a.m. semifinal, along with Brown, Harvard, Yale, Clemson and Washington.

In Saturday’s semifinal races, the first-, second- and third-place finishers advance to the grand final in each event to determine places first through sixth at the championships.

Heat Results
EVENT: VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 1: 1. Stanford (6:27.60), 2. Yale (6:32.30); 3. Washington (6:34.60); 4. Harvard (6:34.80); 5. Ohio State (6:42.80)
Heat 2: 1. California (6:29.40); 2. Brown (6:32.80); 3. Michigan State (6:40.40); 4. Oregon State (6:46.60); 5. Wisconsin (6:51.70)
Heat 3: 1. Virginia (6:29.51); 2. Princeton (6:31.49); 3. Clemson (6:32.57); 4. USC (6:40.49); 5. Michigan (6:48.83); 6. Dartmouth (7:04.79)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips, Victoria Burke)

EVENT: SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 1: 1. Virginia (6:43.99); 2. Washington (6:48.30); 3. Ohio State (6:52.27); 4. Oregon State (6:54.55); 5. Harvard (6:58.62)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper, Susie Chalker)
Heat 2: 1. California (6:42.92); 2. Yale (6:44.30); 3. Stanford (6:48.42); 4. USC (6:57.93); 5. Princeton (7:01.74)
Heat 3: 1. Brown (6:42.96); 2. Michigan State (6:44.21); 3. Michigan (6:44.61); 4. Wisconsin (6:47.02); 5. Clemson (7:04.17); 6. Dartmouth (7:14.17)

EVENT: VARSITY FOUR
Heat 1: 1. Virginia (7:31.29); 2. California (7:33.94); 3. Harvard (7:34.98); 4. Michigan State (7:36.10); 5. Princeton (7:55.80)
• (Virginia lineup: Coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson)
Heat 2: 1. Ohio State (7:29.05); 2. Clemson (7:30.49); 3. Wisconsin (7:32.57); 4. USC (7:39.21); 5. Oregon State (7:41.72)
Heat 3: 1. Yale (7:29.83); 2. Michigan (7:32.43); 3. Washington (7:32.72); 4. Stanford (7:42.36); 5. Brown (7:48.75); 6. Dartmouth (8:07.24)