Rain, Wind Don't Stop OU's NCAA Debut

May 31, 2013

2013 NCAA Rowing Championships
Eagle Creek Park | Indianapolis

Varsity Eight: Heat 1, Repechage 1
1.	USC	6:48.943
2.	Harvard	6:50.238
3.	Yale	6:52.370
4.	Washington State	7:05.204
5.	Oklahoma	7:11.629
	----
1.	Stanford	7:05.096
2.	Yale	7:05.360
3.	Notre Dame	7:05.656
4.	Oklahoma	7:20.877
5.	Wisconsin	7:21.345
6.	Gonzaga	7:39.989
7.	Marist	8:05.251

Second Varsity Eight: Heat 3, Repechage 2
1.	USC	6:56.304
2.	Princeton	6:58.556
3.	Notre Dame	7:15.092
4.	Oklahoma	7:19.672
5.	Gonzaga	7:21.894
6.	Marist	8:16.541
	----
1.	UCLA	7:20.741
2.	Stanford	7:25.449
3.	Michigan	7:31.747
4.	Oklahoma	7:35.057
5.	Boston University	7:47.205
6.	Gonzaga	7:47.226
7.	Navy	8:05.059

Varsity Four: Heat 1, Repechage 1
1.	California	8:11.543
2.	Washington State	8:16.882
3.	Oklahoma	8:20.911
4.	Wisconsin	8:24.953
5.	Cornell	8:41.163
	----
1.	Stanford	8:07.691
2.	Michigan	8:10.992
3.	Oklahoma	8:13.730
4.	Harvard	8:19.355
5.	Cornell	8:30.571
6.	Gonzaga	8:36.257
7.	Boston University	8:37.416

Sooner Rowing Central

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Twitter | Instagram INDIANAPOLIS -- After a one hour weather delay, the University of Oklahoma rowing team made its national championship debut amidst a steady rain and tough headwind Friday at the 2013 NCAA Rowing Championships in Indianapolis.

Severe weather delayed the championship's opening day by one hour before the competition began. Once it got underway though, the Sooners made the most out of challenging conditions against the 22-team field of the nation's best crews.

OU finished in the top four in five of its six races, including two top-three finishes. While the Sooners did not finish first or second in any of their three heats or repechages to advance to tomorrow's top semifinal, the Sooners beat five higher-ranked boats.

Oklahoma's varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four will each compete in one of two C/D semifinals Saturday for the chance to race in Sunday's third final and a top-18 final ranking. In each C/D semifinal, the top three crews in the five-team race advance to the third final. The 12 boats in each event's A/B semifinals will advance to Sunday's grand final or petite final.

In the first race of the day for OU, the 17th-ranked varsity eight finished fifth in a strong heat that included top-seeded USC. The Sooners crossed the line in 7:11.629, behind the Trojans, No. 9 Harvard, No. 8 Yale and No. 16 Washington State.

The Sooners posted a fourth-place 7:20.877 in the repechage to upset No. 13 Wisconsin. The race for first place was a tight contest between Stanford, Yale and Notre Dame, but the Cardinal pulled out a photo-finish win, with just 0.440 seconds separating the three crews. The Sooners downed the Badgers by .468 seconds and also beat Gonzaga and Marist.

The heat for the 14th-ranked second varsity eight was another challenging heat, but the Sooners finished in fourth with a time of 7:19.672. OU battled No. 11 Notre Dame for third place, but crossed the line just over four seconds behind UND. The Sooners finished ahead of No. 19 Gonzaga and No. 22 Marist. No. 3 USC, No. 6 Princeton claimed the top two spots.

A third-place finish from the 17th-ranked varsity four was OU's highest finish in the heats. A 8:20.911 was fast enough to upset No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 16 Cornell. No. 1 Cal and No. 9 Washington State earned the automatic berths in the top semifinals.

Just before the rain started to fall harder, the varsity four closed the day's racing for OU with another third-place finish in 8:13.730. The Sooners came in just 2.738 seconds behind No. 13 Michigan in a tight race for second place that included No. 14 Harvard and Cornell for the first 1,000 meters. No. 15 Stanford came in first with a time of 8:07.691 and led throughout the race.

Each of Oklahoma's boats will compete in a five-team semifinal Saturday. The top three finishers advance to Sunday's six-team third final. Fans can keep track of all the action on the final two days with live video and live results from Indianapolis.

The final standings of the 22-team Division I championship will be determined by the placement of each team's varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four crews. Points will be awarded according to a boat's finish in the event's final.

For complete news and behind-the-scenes updates on the Sooners from team headquarters in Indianapolis, go to the Championship Central page or follow them on Twitter at @SoonerRowing and Instagram at Instagram.com/OU_Rowing.

OU Lineups

Varsity Eight C: Carly Schueler 8: Heather Morris 7: Ashley LaFollette 6: Kristin Clift 5: Nikki Furmanek 4: Rebecca Staff 3: Emmie Preskitt 2: Kim Moldenhauer 1: Meghan Farrell	Second Varsity Eight C: Jessica Hogan 8: Becca Winchester 7: Marilyn Kozlowski 6: Laura Combs 5: Olivia Staff 4: Taylor Gillespie 3: Ivy Brown 2: Kellie O'Reilly 1: Kelsey O'Grady
Varsity Four C: Ashley Carpenter 4: Abbie Seremek 3: Rachel Cantrell 2: Jennifer O'Grady 1: Melissa Simpson

Players Mentioned

Ivy Brown

Ivy Brown

Rachel Cantrell

Ashley Carpenter

Kristin Clift

Laura Combs

Meghan Farrell

Meghan Farrell

Taylor Gillespie

Jessica Hogan

Marilyn Kozlowski

Marilyn Kozlowski

Ashley LaFollette

Kim Moldenhauer

Heather Morris

Jennifer O'Grady

Jennifer O'Grady

Kelsey O'Grady

Kelsey O'Grady

Kellie O'Reilly

Emmie Preskitt

Carly Schueler

Abbie Seremek

Abbie Seremek

Melissa Simpson

Olivia Staff

Rebecca Staff

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics