University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Advance to Saturday's NCAA Semifinals
5/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
The Gophers drew the second heat of the day and the second lane. Minnesota jumped out to a good pace in the first 500 meters of the race, narrowing the gap between Wisconsin and Notre Dame. The Gophers surged past the Fighting Irish and then the Badgers to take a third-place spot early in the race. Minnesota began closing the gap against Michigan State in the last 500 meters, but the Spartans crossed the finish line in a time of 6:37.812, 1.51 seconds in front of the Gophers. Princeton, who is ranked No. 1 in the country in the First Varsity Eight, jumped out to an impressive boat-length lead in the first 250 meters and cruised to a heat win time of 6:32.224.
“They did a such great job today,” head coach Wendy Davis said. "It’s our first time at the NCAA Championships and you never know how the student-athletes are going to handle it. However, they have been very calm and collected and knew what they wanted to do today. We just accomplished step one and that was a big step for us. In the past we've been a second 1,000-meter team and that's something we've really been trying to work on leading up to the championships. It was great for us to be in third place by the 500-meter mark. “
In Heat 1 competition, Brown won with a time of 6:41.497, while Big Ten champion Ohio State finished second in a time of 6:43.37. Southern California and Yale finished with the exact same time in 6:44.812 and both qualified for the semis. California-Berkeley won its heat with a time of 6:36.797, while Washington State (6: 38.59) and UCLA (6:39.281) placed second and third, also to advance.
Six teams competed in the repechage this afternoon, with three advancing to tomorrow's semifinals. Washington won the repechage, while Notre Dame can on at the end of the race and finished second and Stanford placed third. All three will compete in tomorrow's semifinals. Tennessee, Boston University and Wisconsin came in fourth, fifth and sixth and will compete in the C Final tomorrow morning.
The Gophers drew Princeton (No. 1), Washington State (No. 3), Southern California (No. 4), Brown (No. 6), Yale (No. 8) and Stanford (No. 15) in tomorrow's semifinals. If Minnesota finishes in the top three of its semifinal, it advances to the Grand Final on Sunday. If the Gophers finish lower than the top three, they compete in the Petite Final, also on Sunday.
Heat 1
Brown 6:41.497
Ohio State 6:43.370
Southern California 6;44.812
Yale 6:44.812
Washington 6:52.994
Stanford 6:58.892
Heat 2
Princeton 6:32.3224
Michigan State 6:37.812
Minnesota 6:39.324
Notre Dame 6:44.661
Wisconsin 6:49.508
Heat 3
California 6:36.797
Washington State 6:38.590
UCLA 6:39.281
Tennessee 6:39.821
Boston U 6:48.854
Repechage
Washington 6:23.471
Notre Dame 6:25.985
Stanford 6:26.856
Tennessee 6:27.617
Boston U 6:31.503
Wisconsin 6:31.923
Semifinal 1 10:30 a.m. (Lane)
Stanford (1)
Brown (2)
Yale (3)
Southern California (4)
Princeton (5)
Minnesota (6)
Washington State (7)
Semifinal 2 10:45 a.m. (Lane)
Washington (1)
Notre Dame (2)
Ohio State (3)
Michigan State (4)
California (5)
UCLA (6)
Third Level Final (Lane)
Wisconsin (1)
Tennessee (2)
Boston U. (3)
Players Mentioned
