The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships (semifinals)
No. 4 Rowing advances all three boats to grand finals at NCAA Championships
05.26.2018 | Rowing
Texas sends all three boats to the grand final for the first time at an NCAA Championship.
I Eight to the grand final.
— Texas Rowing (@TexasRowing) May 26, 2018
II Eight to the grand final.
Four to the grand final.
EVERYONE TO THE GRAND FINALS! ??
Today's Texas grand finals schedule (all times Eastern)
2:08pm: I Eight
2:24pm: II Eight
2:40pm: Four#HookEm #NCAARow pic.twitter.com/9hG2ZXkAOt
Photo Gallery | Live Results | Live Video
SARASOTA, Fla. – No. 4 Texas made history Saturday and sent all three of its boats to the grand finals at the 2018 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships. The Longhorns had qualified each boat – the I Eight, II Eight and Four – for grand finals (championship finals), at previous NCAA Championships but never at the same NCAA regatta until Saturday morning.
The Longhorns' I Eight, which accumulates the most points among the three boats contested at the NCAA Championships – qualified for a second straight NCAA Championships grand final and its third such grand final in the last four years. Texas needed a top-three finish in its semifinal heat to move on to the grand final, and it placed second behind Stanford in 6:27.171. Texas will take on Washington, California, Ohio State, Stanford and Princeton in the grand final Saturday at 2:08 p.m. ET.
UT's II Eight qualified for its second grand final in the last three years and placed third in its semifinal heat behind Washington and Michigan at 6:36.159. The Longhorns join California, Virginia, Yale, Washington and Michigan in the grand final Saturday at 2:24 p.m. ET.
Texas' Four boat reached the grand final for a second consecutive year. The Horns took second in their semifinal heat behind California in 7:10.008. UT joins Washington, Ohio State, Michigan, California and Yale in the grand final Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET. Washington, California and Texas were the only three schools to qualify all three boats for the grand finals.
Texas is well positioned to match or even exceed its program-best fourth-place finish from the NCAA Championships a year ago. Fourth-year UT head coach Dave O'Neill has led the Horns to seventh, eighth and fourth-place team finishes, respectively, at the last three NCAA Championships. Texas would take home another team trophy with a top-four team finish this afternoon.
Live results can be found here and live video is available here.
2018 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships
Top-3 in each A-B semifinal heat advance to Saturday's grand finals, bottom 3 to petite finals
I Eight – A-B semifinal heat 2
Texas Crew: Ashley Jacobs (coxswain), Ljiljana Josic (stroke), Milica Slijepcevic, Fanny Bon, Mariam Soufi, Aspa Christodoulidis, Alexandra Watson, Emily Froehlich, Sara Neaves
1 Stanford, 6:25.251
2 Texas, 6:27.171
3 Princeton, 6:29.368
4 Michigan, 6:30.828
5 Yale, 6:37.213
6 USC, 6:38.711
II Eight – A-B semifinal heat 1
Texas Crew: Kay Murphy (coxswain), Claudia Destefani (stroke), Margaret Dail, Becca Gehring, Sarah Cadman, Alexa McAuliffe, Merilynn Finley, Katelyn Bouthillette, Rachel Fleming
1 Washington, 6:28.734
2 Michigan, 6:34.199
3 Texas, 6:36.159
4 Stanford, 6:38.026
5 Princeton, 6:50.017
6 Syracuse, 6:54.186
Four – A-B semifinal heat 2
Texas Crew: Shannon Barry (coxswain), Allyson Hite, Blair Bartholomew, Courtney Crossley, Alice Bowyer
1 California, 7:03.710
2 Texas, 7:10.008
3 Yale, 7:14.616
4 Stanford, 7:17.881
5 Indiana, 7:26.260
6 Washington State, 7:26.845
Players Mentioned
