Michigan State University
NCAA Championship
Spartans Complete Day Two At The NCAA Rowing Championships
5/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 28, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The second day of the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships in Sacramento, Calif., saw two Michigan State boats fighting for a chance to compete for a national title, and the first varsity eight fighting for places 13-16 in the nation. MSU's second varsity eight advanced to the grand final, while the first varsity four will race in Sunday's petite final. The Spartan first varsity eight finished 13th in the nation.
"Our racing went pretty well this morning," MSU Rowing head coach Matt Weise said.
The Spartan first varsity four placed fourth in its repechage with a time of 7:33.19, behind California (7:24.51), USC (7:27.48) and Michigan (7:30.28). Princeton also appeared in the repechage, finishing in fifth place (7:42.59). By failing to place in the top two, the Spartans will appear in Sunday's petite final, competing with crews from Michigan, Princeton, Yale, Harvard and Ohio State for seventh place in the nation.
"The first varsity four is still struggling a little bit," Weise said. "They're fine technically and physically, they just need to decide mentally that they're ready to go. I know it sounds easy, but it takes five people to do that. They need to trust each other to be ready to go."
The second varsity eight also took part in a repechage on Saturday morning, finishing a close second behind Ohio State (6:49.52), with a time of (6:49.69). The other crews appearing in the repechage, Washington, Harvard, and Wisconsin, will appear in Sunday's petite final. Due to its top-two finish, the second varsity eight will appear in the grand final on Sunday, rowing for a national title against Brown, Yale, Virginia, California, and Ohio State.
"The second varsity eight lost to OSU by a very little bit," Weise said. "It keeps them hungry, and they want to do very well tomorrow. They know it's going to be close. They're doing a good job rising to occasion and staying focused. I can't wait to see them race tomorrow. They're not afraid to get out there and go, and that's great."
The first varsity eight captured first place in a very close C-Final race with a time of 6:46.62, finishing No. 13 overall in the NCAA Women's Rowing Championship. Also appearing in the first varsity eight C-Final were the Wisconsin (6:46.89), UCLA (6:47.30), and Syracuse (6:58.37) crews.
"The first varsity eight put together a couple of really great performances this weekend, and they really came together to finish their season strongly," Weise said. "We were still competing for points against Wisconsin in the C-Final, so it was good to pick up those points. The way they finished this regatta helps the program as well, because the varsity eight put together great back-to-back races."
Place Team (Time)
First Varsity Four
Repechage Two
1. California (7:24.28)
2. USC (7:27.26)
3. Michigan (7:29.97)
4. Michigan State (7:32.89)
5. Princeton (7:42.29)
Second Varsity Eight
Repechage Two
1. Ohio State (6:48.79)
2. Michigan State (6:49.03)
3. Washington (6:56.24)
4. Harvard ( 6:59.13)
5. Wisconsin (7:02.23)
First Varsity Eight
C-Final
1. Michigan State (6:45.98)
2. Wisconsin (6:46.21)
3. UCLA (6:46.54)
4. Syracuse (6:57.87)
