OU Sends Five Boats to Grand Finals

May 14, 2016 | Rowing

By: Micah Thompson

NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma rowing team swept all five qualifying-session races on Saturday at the 2016 Big 12 Championship. The regatta is being held at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The Sooners' first varsity eight, seeded No. 2 in its division, started off the day with a win over Tennessee, Kansas State and Alabama, crossing the line in 6:27.328, four seconds ahead of second-place Tennessee.

The No. 3-seeded Oklahoma 2V8 defeated No. 2 Tennessee as well as West Virginia and Alabama after finishing in 6:34.270.

Both Sooner varsity fours were seeded second in their respective divisions, and both came away with wins on Saturday. The first varsity four edged Tennessee by one second, posting a time of 7:20.851, and also downed Old Dominion and Kansas State, and the 2V4 crossed the line in 7:20.289, defeating Kansas, Old Dominion and Kansas State in dominating fashion.

The Oklahoma third varsity eight closed out Saturday's competition with a win over Kansas, Tennessee and Old Dominion, finishing the 2K race in 6:51.899.

All five Sooner boats will compete in Sunday's Grand Finals, slated for an 8:15 a.m. CT start. To qualify for the Grand Finals, a boat had to finish in the top three of its heat. The final boat in each heat is placed in the petite finals and races for seventh and eighth place during Sunday's finals.

Sunday marks the second and final day of the championship with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Full results from the opening day of the Big 12 Championship can be found at DeltaTiming.com.

RESULTS
1V4
1. Oklahoma (6:27.328)
2. Tennessee (6:31.365)
3. Kansas State (6:39.528)
4. Alabama (6:47.365)

2V8
1. Oklahoma (6:34.270)
2. Tennessee (6:37.620)
3. West Virginia (6:48.900)
4. Alabama (6:59.655)

1V4
1. Oklahoma (7:20.851)
2. Tennessee (7:21.494)
3. Old Dominion (7:28.811)
4. Kansas State (7:25.214)

2V4
1. Oklahoma (7:20.289)
2. Kansas (7:35.500)
3. Old Dominion (7:42.408)
4. Kansas State (7:46.164)

3V8
1. Oklahoma (6:51.899)
2. Kansas (7:00.333)
3. Tennessee (7:08.616)
4. Old Dominion (7:10.545)

GRAND FINAL SCHEDULE (Central Time)
8:15 a.m. – 3V8
8:45 a.m. – 2V4
9:15 a.m. – 1V4
9:45 a.m. – 2V8
10:15 a.m. – 1V8

OU LINEUPS
1V8
C. Nicasia D'Allesandro
S. Mary Anderson
7. Natalie Grimes
6. Elena Sloan
5. Victoria Wallace
4. Maegan Neihart
3. Katie Ognovich
2. Reagan Collins
B. Kalie Heffernan