Gold River, Calif. – While the Jacksonville University women's rowing program missed the mark to compete in the grand finals of the NCAA Division I Rowing Championship, there's still much more racing left on the agenda. Day one of the three-day regatta officially concluded with all three Dolphin crews advancing to Saturday's semifinals.
Nearly three hours after Jacksonville steered the waters of Lake Natoma in its opening heats, the crews prepared to launch for the evening's repechages. The top two boats advanced to the A/B semifinals with the remainder of the field heading to the C/D. The Dolphins' varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four will each compete in their respective C/D semi on Saturday.
JU's V8 repechage resulted in a better time than its opening heat. Finishing six seconds faster, the crew's final race posted a time of 7:15.375. Stanford led the pack in the first 500 meters but it was Virginia that rowed in for first at 6:25.825.
The Fins' second varsity eight also cut nearly four seconds off of its time (7:29.928) in its second race. Brown earned the top time in 6:30.271 and was closely followed by Ohio State, the defending national champions, who finished second (6:32.995).
In the V4 repechage, Jacksonville rowed in sixth at 8:46.590. There were seven competitors in the race and in the first 500 meters five of them were chipping away for the lead. Michigan remained in first for a time of 7:27.074.
Semifinals are set to begin Saturday, May 30 at 11:30 a.m. with the varsity eights. The top three finishers advance to the "C" final Sunday.
Women's I Eight
Coxswain - Lauren Whetzel; 8 - Danielle Keeler; 7 - Stefanie Keeler; 6 - Julianna Welch; 5 - Jessica Mathews; 4 - Veronika Stasaityte; 3 - Bridget Keough; 2 - Victoria Hernandez; 1- Stacey Price
Women's II Eight
Coxswain - Claire McLenna; 8 - Micaela Hill; 7 - Victoria Tkacz; 6 - Kelly Cleveland; 5 - Ashley Hirt; 4 - Jennifer Pavlik; 3 - Joan Spinelli; 2 - Tori West; 1 - Rylie Ayles
Women's I Four
Coxswain - Monica Hakun; 4 - Emily Woods; 3 - Jodi Coia; 2 - Sydney Warpness; 1 - April Beck
