Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
NCAA Semifinals
Spartans Advance to Petite Finals at NCAAs
5/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 29, 2010
Rancho Cordova. Calif. - Michigan State will have all three of its boats in the petite finals of the 2010 NCAA National Championship Regatta on Sunday morning. The Spartans, who had their varsity eight and varsity four both seeded seventh, have a chance to achieve their seeds in the final results; the second varsity was seeded 14th and has an opportunity to exceed its original seed in the final order of finish.
Michigan State can still conceivably match its all-time best team finish at NCAA's, as only two schools - top-ranked Virginia and second-ranked Cal - have all three of their boats in the Grand Finals. MSU was sixth as a team last year, taking sixth in the V8 and seventh in both the second varsity and varsity four races.
"Unfortunately, we're in the petite finals with all three boats," admitted head coach Matt Weise, who has guided the Spartans to sixth-place finishes in each of the last two seasons. "The varsity eight rowed well, but just couldn't beat three excellent crews in its heat. We'll refocus for tomorrow, because those races will also be important. The disappointment of not being in the Grand Finals can't distract us from coming to the course ready to go tomorrow."
The Spartans landed with a tough heat draw, lining up with the top-three nationally-ranked varsity eights in the semifinals. MSU had a strong start, and were in contact with Yale and Virginia, who raced out to a lead. Cal hung back, maintaining a slight lead on Michigan State, but put on an impressive move with 650 meters to go to pull into first heading into the final sprint. Yale edged Cal at the finish line, and Virginia was less than two seats behind Cal; Michigan State held on to fourth, but it put them into Sunday's petite final - a race which will be Sunday morning at 11:30.
The second varsity finished fifth in its semifinal heat. Brown was the early leader and made aggressive strides midway through the race - rowing at 40 strokes per minute - to maintain that lead and coast to an open-water victory. Virginia overtook Cal in the final 500 to take second place from the Bears. Washington, which was challenging for third through 1000 meters, was fourth, followed by Michigan State, which was about three seconds behind at the finish. The second varsity will race in the petite final on Sunday at 10:45 a.m.
The varsity four was also fifth, crossing the line in (7:24.54) about three seconds behind fourth-place Stanford. Cal won in a time of 7:13.22; Washington was a second behind, and Brown took the final Grand Final entry in 7:17.73.
Complete live results can be found at http://www.jamcotimes.com/2010/ncaaw/index.htm.
NCAA National Championship Regatta - Day Two Results
VARSITY EIGHT:
Semifinal Heat 1: 1) Yale 6:16.54; 2) Cal 6:16.60; 3) Virginia 6:17.69; 4) Michigan State 6:23.97; 5) UCLA 6:27.21; 6) Washington 6:32.46
Semifinal Heat 2: 1) Princeton 6:18.39; 2) Stanford 6:19.70; 3) USC 6:23.66; 4) Michigan 6:30.09; 5) Brown 6:30.80; 6) Wisconsin 6:34.34
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT:
Semifinal Heat 1: 1) Brown 6:27.84; 2) Virginia 6:32.79; 3) Cal 6:32.89; 4) Washington 6:38.89; 5) Michigan State 6:41.18; 6) Yale 6:46.82.
Semifinal Heat 2: 1) Stanford 6:28.94; 2) Princeton 6:33.24; 3) Michigan 6:34.40; 4) Wisconsin 6:38.09; 5) Washington State 6:41.19; 6) Ohio State 6:43.71
VARSITY FOUR:
Semifinal Heat 1: 1) Virginia 7:07.28; 2) USC 7:13.55; 3) Wisconsin 7:13.95; 4) Princeton 7:18.11; 5) Michigan 7:23.00; 6) Clemson 7:29.68
Semifinal Heat 2: 1) Cal 7:13.22; 2) Washington 7:14.41; 3) Brown 7:17.73; 4) Stanford 7:21.36; 5) Michigan State 7:24.54; 6) Yale 7:27.23
