Women’s Rowing all 3 boas to Grand Finals

[GoHorns1]

Gainesville, Ga. – For the eighth year in a row, No. 3 Texas Rowing advanced all three boats to the NCAA Championships 'A' Finals after completing both the opening round and semifinals on Friday at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga.

Due to forecasted inclement weather on Saturday, the semifinals had been moved to Friday afternoon. The Longhorns won all three of their first-round heats in the morning, then all three of their semifinal heats in the afternoon to advance. Texas' I Eight and II Eight both posted the best times in both the first-round heats and semifinals en route to the Grand Finals.

All three boats will compete for an NCAA Championship in Sunday's Grand Finals. Texas is one of four programs to send all boats to the 'A' Finals this year, joining Stanford, Virginia and Tennessee.

"We packed two days into one today, and I'm really glad with how things worked out," head coach Dave O'Neill said. "The change in schedule wasn't too big of a deal for us since we're used to doing two hard efforts in one day, especially on a Friday, so I think things might have worked to our advantage. Getting all boats into the A final is a really big deal. While we have done that the last few years, we never take it for granted."

With a 6:30 a.m. CT start, the First Varsity Eight punched its ticket into the 'A' Final by winning heat 2 with a time of 5:57.958, which was the best overall time in all heats. Later in the day in Semifinal 1, Texas again registered the top overall time, clocking a 5:59.571.

"Our first eight was absolutely terrific today," O'Neill said. "Going just under 6:58 in the morning and then going 6:59 in the afternoon is pretty good. Of course, Stanford is right there with us, so Sunday is going to a phenomenal race. We'll be ready."

The II Eight was off next in the morning, and just like the Varsity Eight, won both heat 2 and registered the best overall time of the round in 6:03.351. The Longhorns then repeated the feat in Semifinal 2 by posting 6:06.910.

Next up in each round, the I Four captured heat 2 in 6:44.878 before winning Semifinal 1 in 6:52.913. Both times were second-best overall, trailing only Stanford.

Texas is set to compete in Sunday's Grand Finals in pursuit of its fourth NCAA title over the last six years, beginning with the I Four at 9:36 a.m. ET/8:36 a.m. CT. The II Eight will race at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT and the I Eight will close out the national regatta at 10:24 a.m. ET/9:24 a.m. CT.

"We'll take it easy tomorrow," O'Neill said. "Having a day off during NCAAs will be quite different, but we'll make the most of it. We're looking forward to what's ahead in Sunday morning."

A complete schedule and live results for this weekend can be found here. All three days can be streamed here.

Lineups:

I Eight: Amy Werner (Cox), Imy Grey, Lucy Searle, Ilva Boone, Maya Meschkuleit, Marg Van der Wal, Phoebe Wise, Abby Dawson, Rhiannon Luke

II Eight: Bronwen Holmes (Cox), Katherine Nordheim, Amelia Gleed, Chloe Driver, Savvy Jerome, Nike Utesch, Holly Davis, Paula Becher, Ioanna Asvesta

I Four: Paris West (Cox), Jess Colbran, Allie Alton, Giulia Orefice, Leila Gaston

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Edited 2 hours ago by GoHorns1