Sooners Advance to Grand Finals

May 16, 2009

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The University of Oklahoma women's rowing team raced in the open four and novice eight preliminary and semifinal competitions today at the NCAA South/Central regionals.

The varsity four placed third in its heat during preliminary rounds with a time of seven minutes, 21.68 seconds. Oklahoma finished behind Wisconsin (7:05.1) and Virginia “B” (7:14.23). OU was the only Big 12 school to advance to the A/B semifinal.

Oklahoma then finished third in the semifinal race with a time of 7:12.94. The third place finish was enough to put the varsity four in the Grand Final Sunday scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. CT to face Clemson “A”, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Virginia “B”.

"The varsity four had a solid race in the heat and was able to conserve a little in the second thousand, which ended up paying off for us in the semi-final,” head coach Leeanne Crain said. “We knew we needed to put together a near perfect race in the semi to qualify for the A Final, and the team did an excellent job of executing our race plan. We knew it was going to be a battle to get into the Grand Final, but the team never lost sight of that goal."

The first novice eight finished fourth in its heat with a time of 6:50.69 to move on to semifinals. The Sooner eight was also the only Big 12 team to advance to the semifinal round and was led by coxswain Kelsey Witten, Laura Moon, Brooke Sheppard, Cara Bowers, Sarah Kelle, Heather McDonald, Caroline Brannin, Lindsay Hemingway and Monique Gaines.

OU placed third in its semifinal to earn a spot in the Grand Final at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. The Sooners posted a time of 6:37.3 finishing behind Virginia “A” (6:31.1) and Central Florida (6:34.9). The first novice eight faces Michigan, Virginia “A”, Wisconsin, UCF and Duke in the Grand Final.

The second novice eight led by Haley Brown, Katherine Rabe, Jenava Burguiere, Izzy Stewart, Madelyn Randolph, Laurel Holasek, Brooke Homer, Maureen Lewis and Brandi Brown raced placed sixth in the heat with a time 7:22.50. OU races Sunday at 8:40 a.m. versus Kansas, Kansas State and Indiana.

“I could not be more proud of our first novice squad,” coach Andy Derrick said. “They appointed themselves very well and set the bar for the future of Oklahoma rowing very high. That boat isn't the biggest boat on the water, not by a long shot, but they wanted it more and were willing to do what it takes. Making the Grand Final here has been a goal of ours since November, and they worked very hard to make it a reality today.”

Open Four Preliminary Results
Wisconsin (7:05.1)
Virginia B (7:14.23)
Oklahoma (7:21.68)
Indiana (7:35.94)
Tennessee (7:36.26)

Novice Eight Preliminary Results
Virginia A (6:39.5)
Ohio State (6:44.41)
Clemson (6:46.98)
Oklahoma A (6:50.69)
Kansas State (6:58.04)

UCF (6:38.0)
Michigan (6:39.8)
Alabama (6:49.89)
Notre Dame (6:52.11)
Kansas (7:05.99)
Oklahoma B (7:22.50)

Semifinal Results Open Four
Wisconsin (7:07.8)
Ohio State (7:11.55)
Oklahoma (7:12.94)
Virginia “A” (7:13.23)
Michigan State (7:23.57)
Clemson “B” (7:28.44)

Semifinal Results Novice Eight
Virginia “A” (6:31.3)
UCF (6:34.9)
Oklahoma (6:37.3)
Virginia “B” (6:39.68)
Michigan State (6:40.5)
Notre Dame (6:43.6)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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