GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Washington State University rowing's second varsity eight used a late sprint to finish second in the its Repechage heat, Friday, to advance to the A/B Semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Championships, which will take place Saturday morning at Lake Natoma.
“After being down a good deck at some points during the race, the 2V just decided to sprint, and it was one of the most epic sprints I've ever seen in my life,” WSU head coach Jane LaRiviere said. “I'm really proud of them, this is what NCAA racing is all about.”
In the second varsity eight morning session, the Cougars were seeded 12th and raced out of lane three in the fourth heat. Although WSU had defeated Indiana earlier in the season, the Hoosiers immediately raced out ahead of the Cougars, as WSU (coxswain - Jenna Mangiagli, stroke – Emily Morrow, Isabella Watt, Chloe Rogers, Sarah Steger, Jessi Howe, Katrina Tarrant, Jessica Newson, bow - Lori VerMurlen) finished fourth with a time of 6:47.174. Washington and Virginia automatically moved on to the A/B semifinals after placing first and second, respectively, while the rest of the heat moved on to the Repechage heats, which mean's 'second chance' in French.
WSU's second varsity eight returned to race in the Repechage first heat in the afternoon, racing against Wisconsin, Duke, Gonzaga, USC, Rhode Island and Jacksonville. The Cougars raced tightly with Duke in lane two, as WSU raced out of lane four. Through the first 500 meters Duke held a slight lead over Washington State, before the Cougars closed the gap after 1,000 meters. Just when it looked like the Blue Devils were going to pull away, the Cougars went into a final sprint to catch Duke and finish second to move on to the A/B Semifinals with a time of 6:39.451. Wisconsin won the heat with a time of 6:39.069, just ahead of WSU. The Cougars are competing in the A/B Semifinals for the third-straight year. WSU will race in the second heat of the A/B Semifinals at 9:36 a.m. From the A/B Semifinals boats are guaranteed a top-12 finish.
Coming in seeded 13th in the varsity eight event, the Cougars raced out of lane four in the fourth heat against Princeton (lane one), Virginia (lane two), Washington (lane three), Rhode Island (lane five) and Navy (lane six) in the morning session at the NCAA Championships. The boats finished in the order of their lanes as WSU (coxswain – Rebecca Burns, stroke – Emily Thomson, Mihaela-Teodora Berindei, Jordan Watson, Lucie Weissova, Jess Brougham, Morgan Cathrea, Savannah Davison, bow – Kim Coon) clocked a time of 6:41.118. Princeton held off Virginia by less than a second, while Virginia finished four seconds ahead of Washington. Princeton and Virginia advanced to Saturday's A/B Semifinals, as first and second place in each heat advanced.
The varsity eight returned for the Repechage heat in the afternoon, with the top two boats of each of the two heats advancing to the A/B Semifinals and the rest advancing to the C/D Semifinals. WSU came in ranked fourth in its heat, racing out of lane four against USC in lane one, Wisconsin in lane two, Gonzaga in lane three, Indiana in lane five, Rhode Island in lane six and Jacksonville in lane seven. The Cougars jumped out early over Gonzaga, trailing just USC and Wisconsin, but the Bulldogs were able to fight back around the 1,000-meter mark, as WSU finished fourth with a time of 6:36.749. The Cougars will move on to the C/D Semifinals Saturday morning, which means they're guaranteed a finish between 13th and 22nd. WSU will hit the water in the second heat and race out of lane two at 8:24 a.m.
“The 1V had a pretty good race,” LaRiviere said. “They did everything they could, it just wasn't good enough today.”
Washington State's varsity four headed into the championships seeded 15th, racing out of lane four of the second heat. WSU (coxswain – Ellie Burg, Codi Swenson, Katie Persley, Kortyna Lasaite, Paige Danielson) stayed true to its lane assignment and finished fourth with a time of 7:41.274. Yale won the race with a time of 7:18.168, while Texas edged out Brown for the final spot in the A/B Semifinals.
WSU's varsity four also returned in the afternoon to race in the Repechage, competing in the second heat against Duke, Princeton, Indiana, Northeastern and Rhode Island. The Cougars went out aggressively, but couldn't gain any ground on race-winner Indiana, second-place Princeton or third-place Duke, finishing fourth with a time of 7:46.049. The Cougars will race in the first C/D Semifinal out of lane two at 9:48 a.m.
“The 4V was very aggressive in the Repechage this afternoon,” WSU associate head coach, Josh Adam said. “They had a really great race, but some of that aggressiveness may have cost us a little bit of rhythm. But, every race is an opportunity to get a little faster from that learning process, I feel like we've learned a little something from this race and we'll take that into the C/D Semifinal tomorrow.”
The NCAA Championships continue Saturday and conclude Sunday.
2016 NCAA ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Lake Natoma – Gold River, Calif.
May 27-29, 2016
Friday, May 27 – Day One
Division I Eights
Morning Session Heat Four
1. Princeton, 6:20.824
2. Virginia, 6:21.565
3. Washington, 6:25.645
4. Washington State, 6:41.118
5. Rhode Island, 6:55.667
6. Navy, 7:03.525
Repechage 1 – Afternoon Session
1. Wisconsin 6:28.632
2. Southern California 6:30.852
3. Gonzaga 6:34.673
4. Washington State 6:36.749
5. Indiana 6:38.694
6. Rhode Island 6:56.229
7. Jacksonville 7:15.067
Washington State Varsity Eight Lineup
coxswain-Rebecca Burns
stroke-Emily Thomson
7-Mihaela-Teodora Berindei
6-Jordan Watson
5-Lucie Weissova
4-Jess Brougham
3-Morgan Cathrea
2-Savannah Davison
bow-Kim Coon
Division I Second Varsity Eights
Morning Session Heat Four
1. Washington, 6:30.473
2. Virginia, 6:35.952
3. Indiana, 6:43.718
4. Washington State, 6:47.174
5. Rhode Island, 7:06.731
6. UCF, 7:13.100
Repechage 1 – Afternoon Session
1. Wisconsin 6:39.069
2. Washington State 6:39.451
3. Duke 6:40.045
4. Gonzaga 6:47.967
5. Southern California 6:50.132
6. Rhode Island 7:07.191
7. Jacksonville 7:25.041
Washington State Second Varsity Eight Lineup
coxswain-Jenna Mangiagli
stroke-Emily Morrow
7-Isabella Watt
6-Chloe Rogers
5-Sarah Steger
4-Jessi Howe
3-Katrina Tarrant
2-Jessica Newson
bow-Lori VerMurlen
Division I Varsity Fours
Morning Session Heat Two
1. Yale 7:18.168
2. Texas 7:19.333
3. Brown 7:19.801
4. Washington State 7:41.274
5. Northeastern 7:49.057
Repechage 1 – Afternoon Session
1. Indiana 7:30.225
2. Princeton 7:31.518
3. Duke 7:39.582
4. Washington State 7:46.049
5. Northeastern 7:54.423
6. Rhode Island 8:15.770
7. Jacksonville 8:30.057
Washington State Varsity Four Lineup
coxswain-Ellie Burg
stroke-Codi Swenson
3-Katie Persley
2-Kotryna Lasaite
bow-Paige Danielson