Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, May 31, 2008

UW varsity four wins at women's nationals, makes grand final

Herald news services

 RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. -- Washington's varsity four boat won its heat Friday at the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships to earn an automatic berth in Sunday's grand final, and the Huskies' varsity eight and second varsity both advanced to today's races on Lake Natoma.

The UW's 14th-ranked varsity eight crew finished third in its heat and rows in today's semifinals. The Huskies' second varsity eight was a runner-up in its Friday heat, putting it in today's repechage or second-chance race.

The varsity eight boat needs to finish in third place or better in the semifinals to earn its first grand final berth since 2003. The second varsity eight needs a first- or second-place to make its division's grand final.

The first day of racing was a vindication of sorts for the UW women, whose at-large selection was in doubt until the NCAA Championship invitations were announced May 20.

"Today was great. The kids are really focused in on what they need to do here," UW women's crew coach Bob Ernst said. "They trained really hard in the last week to make a statement that they're not just participants here, they're here to row and to win.

"People have been asking me how we got here. We have a great team. This is a team deal."

The Huskies won the second of two heats in the varsity four, beating California and Yale while completing the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 31.66 seconds.

The victory comes on the heels of the second straight Pacific-10 Championship for the UW varsity four crew and puts the Huskies in Sunday's six-boat grand final with the other heat winner, Virginia (7:27.07). The grand final's other four spots will be determined during today's repechage racing.

"It feels good to be able to kind of relax for a day and know that we're going to come out here and get another practice and just kind of get geared up for the next race," varsity four stroke Rachel Powers said. "Our coach, Colin (Sykes) kind of put the pressure on us this morning. He stressed how important it was that we got first in this heat so we could go straight to the finals and not have to race (today)."

The Huskies have a legacy of success in the fours. The UW has placed among the top-five at the NCAAs every season since 2004 and captured three consecutive varsity four national championships from 1999-2001.

The UW varsity eight finished third in its heat to earn a spot in today's semifinals. (The top three crews in the heat advance.) Second-ranked Brown finished first with the fastest heat time of 6:23.12, followed by No. 5 Stanford in 6:25.68. The Huskies (6:26.88) finished ahead of No. 10 Michigan (6:31.93) and No. 12 Clemson (6:41.59).

"This is the first time this combination has raced together and I told them that they needed to race like they had to win it. And they tried to win it," Ernst said. "They kind of lost focus a little bit in the third 500, probably because they were up and maybe they didn't expect to be."

The Huskies' varsity eight boat streaked to an early lead and maintained that position for the first half of the race. Brown moved into the lead by the 1,500-meter mark and Stanford cruised into second. Open water separated UW from fourth-place Michigan.

"We had a really good start and that's going to give us a lot of confidence going into the next round," said UW coxswain Isabelle Woodward, a sophomore who served as the varsity four coxswain for most of the season before being promoted into the top crew prior to the NCAA Regatta.

Ernst sees today's repechage race as an added beenfit for the Huskies' second varsity eight.

"I think it will benefit them," Ernst said. "As long as they keep positive attitudes and keep getting better every race, that's exactly what we want. It's good that they did well for having first-time out lineups. It will be really good for them to have another race (today) and do well and get ready for the finals."

UW's second varsity overcame a sluggish start to move through the field over the final 1,250 meters. The Huskies clocked a time of 6:47.18 to finish ahead of everyone except heat winner Brown (6:44.46). Ohio State posted a winning time of 6:44.87 to win the other heat.

"It was a great heat to build on," said senior Kim Armstrong. "We didn't necessarily have the greatest first 750, but our heads stayed in the race and we kept pressing throughout the entire 2,000 meters.

"The morale is really high. We are excited and grateful at the opportunity to come to nationals, so we're here to show them why they gave us a bid."
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA