RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. ? At the NCAA Division II Championships Saturday on Lake Natoma, UC San Diego women's crew won the varsity four qualifying race, also called a “repechage,” after outpacing Nova Southeastern University and Dowling College. The victory sets up a thrilling racing schedule for Sunday, with the three-time defending champion Vikings of Western Washington and the Tritons as the front-runners for a national title.
“The four had a much better row today,” UCSD head coach Pattie Pinkerton said. “We focused on sitting up taller and using the body more to accelerate the handle.”
The UCSD squad cruised to a dominating 13-second win in the repechage, crossing the line at 8:21.25 ahead of NSU (8:34.27) and Dowling (8:45.48). The Tritons' varsity four, which includes coxswain Leslie Nanninga, Caryn Urbanczyk (stroke), Kristen Hayashi (3-seat), Lauren Menzies (2) and Kelly Hansen (bow), will compete in the Grand Final at 9:15 a.m. Sunday against WWU and NSU.
The varsity eights for UCSD and WWU, after winning their respective heats on Friday, advance directly into Sunday's Grand final for that event beginning at 9:45 a.m. The varsity eight field also features Dowling and Philadelphia University, squads that placed first and second in another repechage today with times of 7:13.2 and 7:18.8 respectively.
“The varsity eight is ready to go after their rest day today and they feel like they have more speed,” Pinkerton said. “The varsity four pretty much controlled the repechage after the first 400 meters.”
On Sunday, 12 points will be awarded to the first-place eight, nine for second, six for third and three for fourth. The victorious four gets eight points, with six points awarded for second, four for third and two for fourth. The highest combined total between the institutions that received team bids ? UCSD, WWU, Dowling and NSU ? will be crowned national champion. The Tritons and Vikings are the only two teams that qualified both boats in the Grand Finals.
In 2007, the program's most successful season, the Tritons took second place nationally to Western Washington.
