June 1, 2008

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GOLD RIVER, Calif. - California's varsity eight took fourth place and the host Golden Bears took third place overall with 53 points at the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships on Sunday on Lake Natoma. Defending NCAA champion Brown won the national regatta with 67 points, with Washington taking second with 59. Cal took fourth in both the varsity eight and varsity four grand finals and sixth in the second varsity eight event.

"We knew the competition would be really tight and we'd have to be firing on all cylinders," Cal head coach Dave O'Neill said. "We got beat out on the second varsity race, which put us behind. But I'm really proud of what they did for us all year long. In the varsity eight, we knew that Yale and Brown were real fast, and Stanford being up there was no surprise to me. We raced well, but simply got beat by better crews. My sincere congratulations go out to the Brown program and its coaches."

Cal senior co-captain and varsity eight veteran Mara Allen agreed that her team raced well.

"Of course everyone's in it for a win, but this year we definitely put our best foot forward, and we won third," she said. "It was a very positive thing, because we did everything we could. That's all year included. We had the best fall, best winter and the best spring. We got the best out of who we are, and I think that is what every team is going for. We should all be proud of ourselves. I'm proud of my team and myself. I'm happy."

Cal was seeking to claim its third team title in four years, after winning in 2005 and 2006. But Brown won its second straight championship and sixth overall NCAA crown. Washington, meanwhile, improved on its fourth-place Pac-10 finish from May 18 and another Pac-10 team, Stanford, with only its at-large varsity eight at NCAAs, surprised many with a second-place finish in the varsity eight grand final.

The Golden Bears improved on their seventh-place team finish in 2007.

"We showed that last year was an anomaly and that being part of our team means contending for a national championship," O'Neill said. "I'm real proud of our seniors for taking the lead and making this year such a successful one."

Cal's varsity four, coming off an exciting win in its Saturday repechage to qualify for the grand final, started today by taking fourth place with a time of 7:33.10 in the grand final to score nine points. When the Bears won the 2005 NCAA team title, they also placed fourth in the four.

But the Bears' next result was a sixth-place finish in the second varsity eight grand final, in a time of 6:52.15, which put Cal in a difficult spot heading into the last race of the day - the varsity eight grand final. The Bears earned 14 points in this race to stand in fifth place with 23 points, with Brown leading (34) and Washington second (32) at the time. Virginia (29), whose varsity eight was in the petite final, and Ohio State (28), whose varsity eight was in the third final, were third and fourth, respectively, before the varsity eight finals.

Cal's varsity eight, which was ranked No. 1 and was undefeated entering yesterday's NCAA semifinal, placed fourth in a time of 6:36.21. The winner was defending champion Yale (6:34.05), which was followed by Stanford (6:34.95) and third-place Brown (6:35.25). The Cardinal had lost twice to Cal in their two previous meetings this season.

"We did everything in that race that was possible," Allen said. "They did a better job in terms of boat speed. We had our best race and I think they had a really good race. It was just a really close race, and it's fun to race. The fact that it was close and we went for is was all we could ask for from ourselves."

Also on Sunday on Lake Natoma, Western Washington claimed its fourth straight NCAA Division II championship. For more information on the 2008 NCAA Women's Division I, II and III Rowing Championships, please visit Natoma08.com.

NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships

Final Team Standings

School	     Points
1. Brown	         67
2. Washington	59
3. California	53
4. Yale	         51
5. Virginia	47
6. Michigan State	38
7. Ohio State	34
8. Washington St.	30
9. Harvard	26
10. Wisconsin	25
11. Tennessee	21
12. Princeton	17

Sunday's Division I Grand Finals

Varsity Four

1. Washington 7:24.75. 2. Virginia 7:26.09. 3. Brown 7:29.77. 4. California 7:33.10. 5. Michigan State 7:33.99. 6. Yale 7:41.82.

Cal Varsity Four: Coxswain - Jill Costello. Stroke - Melissa Herman. 3 - Sam Sartor. 2 - Kelsey Bates. Bow - Laurel Kuhn.

Second Varsity Eight
1. Brown 6:42.42. 2. Ohio State 6:44.87. 3. Washington 6:48.41. 4. Virginia 6:49.88. 5. Tennessee 6:51.60. 6. California 6:52.15.

Cal's Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain - Katy Milton. Stroke - Adrienne Keller. 7 - Summer Ohlendorf. 6 - Kaiti Seders. 5 - Kirsten Campbell. 4 - Lauren Nowinski. 3 - Bridget Moran. 2 - Sam Silvia. Bow - Maggie Devine.

Varsity Eight
1. Yale 6:34.0. 2. Stanford 6:34.9. 3. Brown 6:35.2. 4. California 6:36.2. 5. Washington 6:38.2. 6. Michigan State 6:40.2.

Cal's Varsity Eight: Coxswain - Krista Ellis. Stroke - Candice Rediger. 7 - Mara Allen. 6 - Elena Humphreys. 5 - Taryn O'Connell. 4 - Mary Jeghers. 3 - Onna Poeter. 2 - Lou Kinder. Bow - Ali Seders.