NCAA Women's Crew | UW, WSU move on to semifinals

The Washington varsity eight finished third in its heat and will compete in today's semifinals, and the Huskies' varsity four boat won to earn an automatic berth in Sunday's final at the NCAA women's rowing championships on Lake Natoma outside Sacramento, Calif.

The Washington State varsity eight boat placed fourth in its heat Friday morning, then clinched a spot in today's semifinals with a second-place finish in a repechage race, where the Cougars battled a stronger head wind than the morning race to finish less than a second behind USC.

In the afternoon, said WSU coach Jane LaRiviere, "they had the power and relaxation they have been searching for the past month, and everyone felt it was a good step up from the morning."

None of the three boats for either Washington or Washington State was eliminated. The Cougars' varsity four finished fifth and will compete in the repechage today.

The UW and WSU second varsity eights (junior varsity) each advanced to a repechage today. The Huskies finished second and the Cougars fourth in a heat won by Brown.

The first-day results were vindication for the Washington women, whose at-large selection had been in doubt.

"The kids are really focused in on what they need to do here," 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."

The Huskies won the second of two heats in the varsity four and will join the other heat winner, Virginia, in the six-boat grand final. The other four spots will be determined during repechage racing today.

Washington's varsity four completed the 2,000-meter course in 7 minutes, 31.66 seconds. California moved into second place by the midway mark and finished nearly five seconds behind the Huskies. Virginia's winning time in the first heat was 7:27.07.

The Huskies have participated in all 11 of the NCAA women's championship regattas. WSU last competed at nationals in 2006, finishing fourth in team scoring.

Other results

Western Washington's varsity eight and varsity four shells cruised to victories and berths in Sunday's Division II grand finals.

"They executed the race plan to a T," said Western coach John Fuchs, whose team is seeking its fourth straight national championship.

Western's eight, which completed the 2,000-meter course in 6:54.29, won its qualifying heat by more than four boat lengths. Western's four (7:53.85) won by almost 18 seconds.

On Friday afternoon, Puget Sound's varsity eight finished the 2,000-meter course in 7:06.55 to earn a spot in the Division III grand final with a win in a qualifier race.