No. 10 UVA Advances Three Boats on First Day of NCAAs
May 26, 2017
WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – No. 10 Virginia advanced three boats to the A/B semifinals on the first day of the NCAA Rowing Championships Friday (May 26) on Mercer Lake in West Windsor Township, N.J.
The Cavaliers’ Second Varsity Eight advanced after its second-place finish on Friday morning, while UVA’s Varsity Eight and Varsity Four boats moved on to the A/B semifinals after its top-2 finishes in repechage racing on Friday afternoon.
“It was a hard day of racing,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “You don’t want to have a long day and you’d rather go right through to the semifinals. The 2V8 had a great race and the V8 responded with a win in the reps. The V4 just had a bad race this morning and we knew they had more. They brought it this afternoon and got into the semifinals, so that was awesome.”
In Friday morning heats, UVA’s Second Varsity Eight moved on to Saturday’s A/B semifinals by finishing second behind Brown 6:21.157-6:22.422 in a tight race. Princeton placed third (6:24.017) followed by Notre Dame (6:38.960), Navy (7:02.223) and Jacksonville (7:13.550).
“We made a couple changes personnel wise, so that made an impact,” UVA associate head coach Steve Pritzker said. “I wanted to get a lineup with more staying power and I think we saw that today.”
UVA’s Varsity Eight (6:15.603) led wire-to-wire in its repechage win over Brown (6:17.713). Iowa placed third at 6:18.986, while Northeastern (6:19.793), Syracuse (6:22.506), Gonzaga (6:24.640) and Navy rounded out the heat.
Virginia’s Varsity Four placed second in its repechage heat to advance. Iowa won the heat at 7:07.546 followed by UVA (7:08.879), Brown (7:09.566), Indiana (7:15.962), Washington State (7:17.926), Navy (7:37.806) and UMass (7:44.859).
In other Friday morning racing, UVA’s Varsity Eight (6:16.175) placed third in its heat behind Ohio State (6:11.158) and Princeton (6:14.181). Notre Dame (6:30.565), UMass (6:31.831) and Navy (6:35.741) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. The Cavaliers’ Varsity Four placed fifth (7:17.324) in its heat behind Washington (6:55.904), Texas (7:01.838), Iowa (7:11.804), Notre Dame (7:14.721).
NCAA championship action continues Saturday (May 27) with the semifinals beginning at 8:12 a.m. ET. Virginia’s first race will be the Varsity Eight’s semifinal at 8:48 a.m., followed by the Second Varsity Eight (9:36 a.m.) and Varsity Four (10:24 a.m.).
The top three boats from each semifinal advance to the grand finals on Sunday (May 28). Live results and video streaming links are available on VirginiaSports.com and NCAA.com.
Friday Morning Results
Varsity Eight Heat Four
1. Ohio State, 6:11.158; 2. Princeton, 6:14.181; 3. Virginia, 6:16.715; 4. Notre Dame, 6:30.565; 5. UMass, 6:31.831; 6. Navy, 6:35.741
Second Varsity Eight Heat Three
1. Brown, 6:21.157; 2. Virginia, 6:22.422; 3. Princeton, 6:24.017; 4. Notre Dame, 6:38.960; 5. Navy; 7:02.223; 6: Jacksonville, 7:13.550
Varsity Four Heat One
1. Washington, 6:55.904; 2. Texas, 7:01.838; 3. Iowa, 7:11.804; 4. Notre Dame, 7:14.721, 5. Virginia, 7:17.324
Friday Afternoon Repechages
Varsity Eight Heat Two
1. Virginia, 6:15.603; 2. Brown, 6:17.713; 3. Iowa, 6:18.986; 4. Northeastern, 6:19.793; 5. Syracuse, 6:22.506; 6. Gonzaga, 6:24.640; 7. Navy, 6:38.486
Varsity Four Heat One
1. Iowa, 7:07.546; 2. Virginia, 7:08.879; 3. Brown, 7:09.566; 4. Indiana, 7:15.962; 5. Washington State, 7:17.926; 6. Navy, 7:37.806; 7. UMass, 7:44.859
Virginia Lineups
Varsity Eight
Coxswain Colette Lucas-Conwell, Stroke: Allie Nicholson, 7: Anna Fairs, 6: Erin Briggs, 5: Georgia Ratcliff, 4: Jane Hudson, 3: Ellen Pate, 2: Heidi Long, Bow: Alice Darry
Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain Izzi Weiss, Stroke: Reilly White, 7: Karen Schulte, 6: Alex Slabbert, 5: Morgan Rosts, 4: Isabella Strickler, 3: Grace Tuttle, 2: Ali Zwicker, Bow: Toni Wiersma
Varsity Four
Coxswain Maria Zeris, Stroke: Jo Gurman, 3: Mackenzie Springer, 2: Mackenzie King, Bow: Lizzie Trull