Rowing Wraps Up First Day of NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 25, 2007
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Ohio State rowing team concluded the first day of the NCAA championships Friday, racing in heats in all three events. The national championships are being held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with the University of Tennessee playing host to the three-day event. All three NCAA Divisions (I, II and III) are competing at the regatta for their respective national titles.
The fifth-ranked OSU first varsity eight boat of Claudia Wurzel (Fr., Como, Italy), Zuzanna Trzcinska (So., Ilawa, Poland), Patricia Goodeman (Sr., Waterville, Ohio), Susanne Herbrand (So., Magdeburg, Germany), Gabriele Albertaviciute (Jr., Vilnius, Lithuania), Jessica Shepherd (Sr., Richmond, Ohio), Annabelle Fago (Sr., Giessen, Germany), Briony Clare (Sr., Sydney, Australia) and coxswain Susie Wilson (Sr., Fredericktown, Ohio) raced in the third heat of its division, rowing in the fourth lane against No. 1 Southern California, No. 8 California, No. 11 Minnesota and No. 19 Washington.
The Buckeyes got out to a solid start and sat in third place after the opening 500 meters. They then made a push up to second for the next 1,000 meters, but Minnesota edged them in the final 500 as OSU finished third with a time of 6:40.18, just 0.62 seconds behind the Golden Gophers at 6:39.56. USC, who entered the NCAA championships undefeated on the season, took first at 6:39.00. With its finish, Ohio State automatically advanced to the semifinals starting Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The second varsity eight crew of Andrea Dymalski (Jr., Bremen, Germany), Nora Franzen (Fr., Bad Honnef, Germany), Giulia Benedetti (Sr., Columbus, Ohio), Simone Haubner (Jr., Leipzig, Germany), Jackie Ruetenik (Sr., Vermillion, Ohio), Justine Mahler (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Mary Sheehan (Sr., Johnstown, Pa.), Mackenzie Hiltbrand (Sr., Upper Arlington, Ohio) and Kate Hanseman (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) raced in their second of two heats for their qualifier and rowed in the fifth lane.
The Buckeyes started out in fourth place, but fell slightly to fifth through the middle 1,000 meters before pushing themselves back up to a fourth-place finish with a time of 6:55.04. Brown won the race at 6:47.47 to automatically advance to the Grand Finals Sunday. The other five boats, including Ohio State, will race in the 2V8 repechages beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to vie for a place in either the Grand or Petite Finals.
The first varsity four was the final heat for Ohio State, racing in the fourth line in the second heat. The crew of Erin Shropshire (Fr, Cincinnati, Ohio), Katie Flarida (Fr., Lima, Ohio), Johnna Burns (Fr., Napoleon, Ohio), Sara Wallace (So., Lebanon, Ohio) and coxswain Chelsea Smith (So., Dublin, Ohio) started strong in its heat, jumping out to an early lead and sitting in third at the 500-meter mark. The Buckeyes then fell back to fifth through the middle 1,000 meters and finished sixth with a time of 7:48.24. Brown took first in the heat with a time of 7:29.65. The varsity four qualifier is set up the same as the second varsity eight with the top finisher advancing to the Grand Final and the other five boats racing in repechages Saturday beginning at 8 a.m.
In the 2V8 and 1V4 repechages Saturday, the top two boats from each of the two races will advance to the Grand Final with the next three racing in the Petite Final. In the first varsity eight semifinals, the top three in the two semifinal races move to the Grand Final while the remainder race in the Petite Final. All Division I Grand and Petite Finals will take place Sunday.
2007 NCAA Championships
Day 1 Results: Heats
Melton Hill Lake, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
FIRST VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 3
1. USC 6:39.00
2. Minnesota 6:39.56
3. Ohio State 6:40.18
4. California 6:41.06
5. Washington 6:47.50
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Heat 2
1. Brown 6:47.47
2. Minnesota 6:50.97
3. Yale 6:53.71
4. Ohio State 6:55.04
5. Tennessee 6:55.29
6. Notre Dame 7:12.02
FIRST VARSITY FOUR
Heat 2
1. Brown 7:29.65
2. Yale 7:33.20
3. Princeton 7:35.59
4. California 7:37.69
5. Notre Dame 7:43.41
6. Ohio State 7:48.24
