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Out On Top: Radcliffe V8 Wins NCAA Third-Level Final
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CAMDEN, N.J.-The Radcliffe varsity eight ended its season with a victory, winning the third-level final at the NCAA Championships Sunday on the Cooper River. The Black and White's race victory gave the boat a 13th-place event finish and contributed to Radcliffe's 14th-place overall showing. Radcliffe finished sixth in the varsity four petite final and third in the second varsity eight third-level final. Radcliffe missed the varsity eight semifinals by one-fifth of a second in its Friday heat. The varsity four qualified for the semifinals, where it finished fifth Saturday. "Racing against the fastest crews in the country, the team did all but two-tenths of a second of what I asked them to do Friday," said head coach Liz O'Leary. "They came back today with a sense of pride and wanting to do their best for the team. When you get on the starting line, you're there to win, and it was great to finish with a victory." The Black and White totaled 21 points in the team standings. Stanford won the NCAA team title and took the gold medal in the varsity eight, edging Virginia by a fraction of a second in the varsity eight grand final. Radcliffe was the quickest crew off the line in the varsity eight third-level final and held the lead into the second 500 meters. Eastern rival Dartmouth took the lead in the middle of the race, but the Black and White was less than a half-second behind the Big Green entering the final 500. Radcliffe then took over, posting a final split of 1:36.06 to finish in 6:24.90, 2.26 seconds ahead of Dartmouth. Five seniors finished their outstanding careers with a varsity eight win: Liz Demers, Anna Kendrick, Esther Lofgren, Sarah Moore and Laura Nicholson. Juniors Christine Baugh and Laura Huppert, sophomore Olivia Coffey and freshman coxswain Jill Carlson also competed in the varsity eight. The varsity four had Radcliffe's top weekend finish, placing 12th overall and sixth in the petite final. The Black and White was one-third of a second back of fifth-place Michigan. The Wolverines, however, picked up their pace to pass Southern California. Radcliffe could not catch the Women of Troy and crossed the line in 7:44.49. In the second varsity eight petite final, Radcliffe held second behind Wisconsin for much of the race before Oregon State surged late to overtake the Black and White. Radcliffe finished in 6:51.00, 6.69 seconds ahead of fourth-place Dartmouth. The third-place race finish left the Black and White in 15th overall for the event. Team Standings Stanford 88 California 85 Yale 85 Virginia 78 Brown 71 Michigan State 54 Washington 50 Ohio State 49 Michigan 48 Princeton 46 Southern California 46 Clemson 43 Wisconsin 26 Radcliffe 21 Oregon State 14 Dartmouth 12 Varsity Eight Third-Level Final Harvard 6:24.90 Dartmouth 6:27.16 Oregon State 6:28.27 Wisconsin 6:31.90 Petite Final Michigan State 6:19.05 Michigan 6:19.09 Southern California 6:23.37 Ohio State 6:23.39 Washington 6:25.99 Clemson 6:32.25 Grand Final Stanford 6:11.95 Virginia 6:12.32 California 6:14.76 Yale 6:17.22 Brown 6:18.13 Princeton 6:24.02 Second Varsity Eight Third-Level Final Wisconsin 6:44.96 Oregon State 6:48.79 Radcliffe 6:51.00 Dartmouth 6:57.69 Petite Final Michigan State 6:37.83 Ohio State 6:42.85 Southern California 6:46.19 Michigan 6:49.18 Clemson 6:51.60 Princeton 6:52.97 Grand Final Yale 6:29.04 California 6:29.58 Stanford 6:31.88 Brown 6:32.93 Washington 6:34.28 Virginia 6:37.17 Varsity Four Third-Level Final Michigan State 7:29.71 Princeton 7:33.08 Oregon State 7:34.04 Dartmouth 7:47.15 Petite Final Ohio State 7:27.14 Brown 7:28.10 Washington 7:30.68 Michigan 7:31.00 3.86 Southern California 7:34.71 Radcliffe 7:44.49 Grand Final Clemson 7:26.78 Wisconsin 7:28.54 Yale 7:30.81 California 7:32.01 Stanford 7:32.29 Virginia 7:34.26 |
