Solid Times for Zags to Begin NCAA Championships
5/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Day One Results
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—The Gonzaga University women's rowing team began competition at its second NCAA Championship Friday, racing in the first two heats of the regatta held on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
"We saw good results today, but we're not yet satisfied," said Gonzaga head coach Glenn Putyrae. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to show how fast we are in all our boats. That doesn't take away from our performances today, but there is room for improvement in the execution. We've seen some things in practice that have not yet showed up in the races, and we want to race the way we prepared in practice."
All three Gonzaga University women's rowing teams advanced to the C/D semifinals due to their performances in the afternoon repechages. The Zags' Varsity 8 boat finished third in their repechage heat, finishing with a time of 6:35.347, three-tenths of a second faster than their morning time. They dueled Notre Dame down the entire 2,000-meter course for third and fourth, edging the Fighting Irish in the end by two seconds. Notre Dame hit the 500m mark faster than the Bulldogs, but the Zags pulled ahead during the next quarter of the track and didn't look back. Brown and Indiana finished first and second in the heat, earning spots in the A/B semis.
The Second Varsity 8 crew also improved its time in the afternoon, shaving off more than three seconds during the break. The Zags finished sixth in their repechage heat, battling against Massachusetts for much of the race. GU actually led the Minutemen at the 500m split, but the UMass boat gained the advantage by the course's halfway point. Wisconsin and Indiana earned the heat's two A/B qualifiers.
Rounding out the Zags' afternoon, the Varsity 4 boat also finished sixth in its repechage heat. The Zags occupied sixth for the entire race, finishing comfortably in the position with a time of 7:47.157, nearly a minute ahead of first time NCAA-participant Jacksonville. Crews from Stanford and Notre Dame took first and second in the heat.
Those three repechage heats were the second races of the day for each Bulldog boat. During the morning session of rowing, each crew rowed against four other teams for a chance to directly qualify for the A/B semifinals. The Varsity 8 crew kicked off the regatta for Gonzaga, competing in heat one. The Zags were fifth for much of the race, but a strong third 500 meters pulled them to within three seats of fourth-place USC.
In the final 500 meters, they rowed their fastest split of the race, pulling ahead of the Trojans for a fourth-place finish with a time of 6:35.659. California and Princeton finished first and second in the heat and qualified directly for the A/B semifinal Saturday morning.
Gonzaga's Second Varsity 8 boat finished fifth in their initial race of the NCAA Championships. They rowed consistently for the first 1500 meters with splits between 1:45.136 and 1:46.624. For the final 500 meters, they raced ahead for a 1:43:002 split time, completing the course in 7:00.589. Washington and Stanford took the heat's top two races and directly qualified for the A/B semifinals.
In the first Varsity 4 race of the day, the Zags also finished fifth. GU saw a decent start to the race and was only three seconds behind fourth-place Indiana in the first 500 meters, but they slipped to six seconds back over the next quarter of the race course. They kept that margin throughout the race, but the Zags' split times did decrease over the last 1,000 meters and finished with a mark of 7:41.485, their fifth-fastest time on a 2,000 meter course this season.
All three Zag crews will now compete in the C/D Semifinals held Saturday morning. With a top-three finish in their semifinal heat, the Bulldogs will advance to the C Finals on the final day of racing, Sunday. In 2013, the first time Gonzaga reached the NCAA Championships, just the Varsity 4 boat raced in the C Final.
"Our objective for tomorrow is for all of our boats to make the C Final," said Putyrae. "That's the next step, that's our goal for the weekend: to take the next step."
The Zags are in good position to take that next step. The Varsity 8 boat is the top seed in its' C/D Semifinal heat while the Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 crews are fourth. The Division I Semifinals begin at 8:30 a.m. May 30, but the Zags will begin the day 10 minutes later when the Varsity 8 boat takes the water on Lake Natoma.
Gonzaga Lineups
I Eights - Karly Dougherty, Kara Soucek, Ingrid Stansberry, Isabelle Belzil, Devyn Bell, Brooklyn Beeler, Maddie Turbes, Casey Burt, Olivia Marsh
II Eights - Heather Handy, Lily Rorick, Clare Manthey, Naomi Medley, Meghan McCallum, Anna Johnson, Madeleine Verspieren, Cheryl Murbach, Hannah Brown
Fours - Laura Brasch, Natalie Potts, Amelie Tristant, Shaylee Kieffer, Ashley Patterson
