Karz, US Crew Move on to B Final

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Following the second weather delay, resulting in cancelled racing, of the Rio Olympics former Oregon State rower Devery Karz and crewmate Kathleen Bertko rowed to a fifth place finish in the women's lightweight double sculls (LW2x) in the A/B semifinals Thursday morning.

The American pair, seeking a top three finish to qualify to the A final, was tied with the German pair for fifth through the first 500-meters. Karz's crew had pulled ahead of the Germany by nearly a second by the midway point and began to make up ground on the fourth-place crew from Denmark in the next 500m. The U.S. boat continued to move up on Ireland's pair in the final 500m but could not to improve on the fifth place spot they held throughout the race. The Americans covered the 2,000m course in 7-minutes, 22.78-seconds. A crew from The Netherlands won the semifinal with a time of 7:13.93.

Karz and the U.S. LW2x will now race in the B final Friday morning for places 7-12.

Karz and Bertko will be back on the course Friday at 5:10 a.m. PT to race in the B final against crews from Denmark, Germany, Japan, Poland and Romania and will race in lane 5.

Karz, a native of Park City, Utah, learned to row as a freshman at Oregon State in the fall of 2008. She went on to earn the team's Most Valuable Oarswoman award in 2011 and was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection.

OREGON STATE ATHLETICS' EVERYDAY CHAMPIONS CULTURE
Through the power of sport, we help people discover and pursue their passions, talents and purpose in order to live a life of balance and positive contribution. Devery Karz was an Everyday Champion during her time at Oregon State. Click here to view her Everyday Champion article from 2009.

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