No. 1 Virginia Wins Three Heats on First Day of NCAA Championships

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GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The No. 1 Virginia rowing team opened competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships on Lake Natoma at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in impressive fashion, winning its respective heats in the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four.

By virtue of its first-place finishes, Virginia qualifies for Saturday’s semifinals in all three events. The Varsity Eight’s semifinal begins at 9 a.m. and features California, Yale, UCLA, Michigan State and Washington in addition to the Cavaliers. The Second Varsity Eight’s semifinal begins at 9:30 a.m. and features Brown, California, Yale, Washington and Michigan State. The Varsity Four’s semifinal begins at 10 a.m. and features Wisconsin, USC, Michigan, Princeton and Clemson. Live video of the semifinals is available here.

The top three finishers from each of Saturday’s semifinals advance to the Grand Final, which will determine first through sixth place.

Virginia’s Varsity Eight got out to a quick start and maintained its edge over second-place Princeton all the way to the finish line. Virginia won with a time of 6:17.51, followed by Princeton (6:22.65) and UCLA (6:28.73). The Cavaliers, Tigers and Bruins were the three teams out of the third heat to automatically qualify for the semifinals.

The fastest time of the day in the Varsity Eight was recorded by Stanford in heat two, as the Cardinal finished at 6:16.81, followed by fellow semifinalists Yale (6:17.22) and Brown (6:26.61).

In the first heat of the Varsity Eight, California (6:19.00), USC (6:22.92) and Michigan State (6:25.73) all automatically qualified for the semifinals.

In the Second Varsity Eight, Virginia was trailing Princeton until the 500-meter mark, when the Cavaliers pulled even with the Tigers and eventually took the lead down the stretch. Virginia’s time of 6:34.09 was good for first place, followed by Princeton (6:37.71) and Yale (6:45.46).

In the second and third heats of the Second Varsity Eight, Stanford, Cal, Wisconsin, Brown, Michigan and Washington all qualified for the semifinals.

Virginia’s Varsity Four, meanwhile, won by a large margin over California and Michigan in its heat. The Cavaliers’ time of 7:09.57 set a new NCAA record for the fastest time in that event. The Golden Bears were second (7:17.64) and the Wolverines were third (7:25.28).

Also advancing to Saturday’s semifinals in the Varsity Four were Washington, USC, Yale, Wisconsin, Brown and Princeton.

2010 NCAA Championships
May 28 | Lake Natoma (Gold River, Calif.)
Results of Heats

Varsity Eight Heat 1: 1. California (6:19.00), 2. USC (6:22.92), 3. Michigan State (6:25.73), 4. Washington (6:29.29), 5. Washington State (6:30.96)
Varsity Eight Heat 2: 1. Stanford (6:16.81), 2. Yale (6:17.22), 3. Brown (6:26.61), 4. Michigan (6:27.82), 5. Wisconsin (6:29.82)
Varsity Eight Hear 3: 1. VIRGINIA (6:17.51), 2. Princeton (6:22.65), 3. UCLA (6:28.73), 4. Clemson (6:33.34), 5. Tennessee (6:35.12), 6. Ohio State (6:36.45

Second Varsity Eight Heat 1: 1. VIRGINIA (6:35.42), 2. Princeton (6:39.04), 3. Yale (6:46.67), 4. Tennessee (6:48.02), 5. Clemson (6:59.26)
Second Varsity Eight Heat 2: 1. Stanford (6:30.44), 2. California (6:33.58), 3. Wisconsin (6:36.74), 4. Washington State (6:38.86), 5. Michigan State (6:44.89)
Second Varsity Eight Heat 3: 1. Brown (6:32.80), 2. Michigan (6:38.84), 3. Washington (6:40.53), 4. UCLA (6:42.65), 5. Ohio State (6:44.82), 6. USC (6:53.10)

Varsity Four Heat 1: 1. VIRGINIA (7:09.69), 2. California (7:17.85), 3. Michigan (7:25.45), 4. Michigan State (7:27.31), 5. Clemson (7:33.07)
Varsity Four Heat 2: 1. Washington (7:14.71), 2. USC (7:18.26), 3. Yale (7:20.07), 4. UCLA (7:25.16), 5. Washington State (7:33.02)
Varsity Four Heat 3: 1. Wisconsin (7:15.69), 2. Brown (7:18.29), 3. Princeton (7:18.31), 4. Stanford (7:20.57), 5. Ohio State (7:27.39), 6. Tennessee (7:38.98)

UVa NCAA Line-Ups
Varsity Eight
Coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Katrin Reinert, Desiree Burns, Kristine O’Brien, Martha Kuzzy, Helen Tompkins, Nora Phillips, Summers Nelson

Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain Cristine Candland, Victoria Burke, Marie Long, Lauren Hutchins, Sarah Borchelt, Caroline Sweeny, Christine Roper, Claudia Blandford, Lauren Shook

Varsity Four
Coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Hunter Terry, Chelsea Simpson, Inge Janssen