No. 14 OSU Finishes 5th at Pac-10 Championships
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - All four Oregon State crews advanced to their respective Grand Finals and the Second Varsity 8+ came in second overall as the OSU's women's crew battled the rest of the Pac-10 on Lake Natoma at Rancho Cordova, Calif. Sunday.
The morning races saw three of four Beaver crews finish second in their heats, all coming in behind crews from California. The Varsity 8+ crew overcame a slow start that saw them in fifth place after the first 500-meters. The Beavers gave themselves some room to breath as they built a small lead over fourth place Western Washington with 500-meters to go, and went on to finish third and qualify for the Varsity 8+ grand final.
After finishing 1.2-seconds behind California in the morning race, the OSU Second Varsity 8+ got off to a slow start in the Grand Final. With 500-meters remaining, only the Cal crew had distanced itself from the pack. Oregon State took advantage with a strong finishing move that pushed the Orange and Black past crews from Stanford, Washington, and USC and gave the Beavers the silver medal finish.
The Beavers' Novice 8+ crew also finished a close second to California in the morning heat, finishing 4-seconds back of the Bears. The Oregon State crew found itself in a three boat battle in the afternoon, as the Cal and Washington crews pulled away. The Beavers spent much of the race dueling side-by-side with Gonzaga and Washington State. The Bulldogs fell off in the second half of the race and the Beavers pushed hard in the final 500-meters, and crossed the line with a time of 7:23.60, tying with the Cougars for third.
Oregon State's Varsity 4+ also had a neck-and-neck race with Gonzaga in the afternoon as the boats passed the 500-meter mark 0.33-seconds apart. The Beavers built their lead as the race went on, and stretched their lead on the Zags to 2.3-seconds with 500 meters left. OSU continued its push to the end of the race and nearly overtook Washington State in the end. When all was said and done, the Beavers finished 2.2-seconds behind the Cougars and 3.8-seconds ahead of the Bulldogs for a fifth place finish.
The V8+ crew was unable to duplicate the success from earlier in the day, coming up short in the Grand Final. The Beavers quickly found themselves in sixth place after the first 500-meters. Despite a strong push to overtake fifth place Washington, the race concluded with a sixth place finish for OSU.
As a team, the Beavers finished with 51 points, good for a fifth place finish. OSU finished one point above the defending Pac-10 Champion USC team. California won the overall Pac-10 title with 79 points, while Stanford finished a distant second with 61. "Overall, today was a good day for our team," head coach Emily Ford said. "I think these races were a big step forward for this program." The Oregon State women's crew now awaits the possibility of an invitation to the NCAA rowing championships, which will also be held at Rancho Cordova, Calif. Log on to OSUBeavers.com for the latest information on Oregon State women's rowing.
Team Results 1. CAL 79 2. STAN 61 3. WSU 59 4. WASH 57 5. OSU 51 6. USC 50 7. UCLA 35 Results: Morning Heats
Second Varsity 8+
Novice 8+
Varsity 4+
Results Grand Finals
Second Varity 8+
Novice 8+
Varsity 4+
Varsity 8+
1. California 6:32.20
2. USC 6:40.80
3. Oregon State 6:41.40
4. Western Washington 6:45.80
5. Gonzaga 6:50.30
1. California 6:45.60
2. Oregon State 6:46.80
3. Stanford 6:49.30
4. UCLA 6:53.50
5. Sacramento State 7:16.30
6. Western Washington 7:18.40
1. California 6:57.30
2. Oregon State 7:01.30
3. Gonzaga 7:13.00
4. Sacramento State 7:15.80
5. USC 7:29.50
1. California 7:32.50
2. Oregon State 7:39.70
3. Gonzaga 7:43.00
4. Stanford 7:51.80
Varsity 8+
1. California 6:38.80
2. Stanford 6:42.70
3. Washington State 6:44.70
4. USC 6:46.30
5. Washington 6:49.60
6. Oregon State 6:52.00
1. California 6:50.90
2. Oregon State 6:52.30
3. Stanford 6:54.60
4. Washington 6:55.80
5. Washington State 6:58.50
6. USC 6:59.80
1. California 7:14.20
2. Washington 7:21.90
3. Washington State 7:23.60
4. Oregon State 7:23.60
5. Gonzaga 7:43.30
6. California Davis 7:44.90
1. Washington 7:39.60
2. California 7:43.00
3. USC 7:51.00
4. Washington State 7:53.30
5. Oregon State 7:55.50
6. Gonzaga 7:59.30
