Sooners Finish Day One at Crew Classic

April 2, 2011

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of Oklahoma women's rowing team completed first-day competition at the San Diego Classic Saturday, sending two boats to the grand finals and two boats to the petite finals.

The varsity eight finished fourth in the "B" heat with a time of six minutes, 31.910 seconds. The Sooners only trailed their ranked opponents, Stanford (6:24,000), Washington (6:29.940) and Wisconsin (6:30.750). The Sooners compete in the petite final tomorrow at 10:40 a.m. CT against UCLA, Oregon State, San Diego, Purdue and Iowa.

"The varsity eight raced well in their heat, but didn't quite have the speed to challenge Stanford, Washington, and Wisconsin in the final 500," Head Coach Leeanne Crain said. "We'll have some great competition in the petite final tomorrow and we're excited to go head-to-head against UCLA. That should be a good match-up."

The varsity four took third in their heat to claim a grand final spot, finishing with a time of 7:28.680. Oklahoma competes for the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup tomorrow at 11:50 a.m., against UCLA, USC, Stanford, Oregon State and Iowa.

"The varsity four had an exceptional race," Crain said. "They locked up the number three spot in the first 1000 meters and never let go. It's a young boat, with three sophomores and a freshman, so they really stepped up and made a statement."

The second varsity eight claimed a fourth-place finish to head to the petite finals with a time of 7:03.660. The Sooners finished behind ranked opponents USC (6:41.600) and Wisconsin (6:43.490). Oklahoma competes tomorrow at 9:40 a.m. against Sacramento State, Iowa, Alabama, and Oregon State.

"The 2V struggled in the heat and just couldn't get into a rhythm," Crain said. "We need to make some adjustments if we want to be competitive in the final. I know we're capable of a lot more."

The novice eight recorded the top finish of the day for the Sooners, placing second in their heat with a time of 7:20.250. The Sooners compete in the grand final tomorrow at 12:40 p.m. against Washington State, Washington, UCLA, Tulsa, and Stanford.

"The novice eight did a great job today," Crain said. "There have been a couple of lineup changes since the Longhorn Invitational, and it seems like the boat is starting to come together and move well."

Live streaming for tomorrow's races can be found on the Crew Classic Website, and Live Results are available on Twitter by following @CrewClassic and @SoonerRowing.

Varsity Lineups

Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Varsity Four
Cox: Kelsey Witten	Cox: Amanda Hoffman	Cox: Carly Schueler
Stroke: Rebecca Staff	Stroke: Ashley La Follette	Stroke: Katherine Rabe
7: Meghan Farrell	7: Katie Klassen	3: Maggie Schaefer
6: Sarah Kelle	6: Ally Gray	2: Brooke Holleman
5: Brooke Sheppard	5: Amber Coyne	Bow: Kelsey O'Grady
4:Nicole Bladow	4:Rebecca Winchester
3:Nicole Furmanek	3: Elizabeth Middleton
2: Morgan Whinery	2:Melissa Simpson
Bow: Meagan Harrell	Bow: Markayla Adam