May 31, 2002

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The 2002 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships kicked off under beautifully sunny skies with the temperature exceeding 80 degrees at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis on Friday.

After a shaky start to the championships which saw USC's Varsity Eight boat finish fourth in its preliminary heat (top three automatically advance to semifinal), the Trojans rebounded in a repechage (a second-chance race for those crews which do not automatically advance through a preliminary heat).

The repechage heats got underway after a two-hour rain delay and the best race of the day, the Division I First Varsity Eight Repechage, took place.

The Women of Troy made the most of their second-chance opportunity, earning a spot in the semifinals by defeating Syracuse and Michigan. Only 3.4 seconds separated the three teams with USC posting a time of 6:43.30 and Syracuse and Michigan posting times of 6:45.45 and 6:46.72 respectively. All three crews qualify for the semifinals on Saturday.

The Trojans will face Stanford, Brown, Harvard, Princeton and Michigan in Saturday's race. The top three boats to cross the finish line in each of the two semifinal races will advance to Sunday's final. Stanford is the only the Trojans have already faced this season. USC beat the Cardinal by six seconds on April 27.

NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 31, 2002
Eagle Creek Park; Indianapolis, Ind.

Varsity Eight Preliminary Heats
(top 3 to semifinals, rest to repechage)
Heat I
(1) Washington - 6:47.20
(2) Harvard - 6:54.20
(3) Virginia - 6:54.90
(4) Syracuse - 6:55.70
(5) Washington State - 6:56.30
(6) Michigan State - 7:03.30

Heat II
(1) Brown - 6:49.20
(2) Yale - 6:53.40
(3) Stanford - 6:53.43
(4) USC - 6:56.80
(5) Notre Dame - 7:05.70

Heat III
(1) Ohio State - 6:51.60
(2) Princeton - 6:53.00
(3) California - 6:56.50
(4) Michigan - 7:04.70
(5) Cornell - 7:09.60

Varsity Eight Repechage
(1) USC - 6:43.30
(2) Syracuse - 6:45.45
(3) Michigan - 6:46.72
(4) Washington State - 6:47.24
(5) Cornell - 6:48.56
(6) Michigan State - 6:50.13
(7) Notre Dame - 6:52.56