May 30, 2010

GOLD RIVER - No. 3 California women's crew finished in second place in the overall team standings at the NCAA Women's Division I Rowing Championships after Sunday morning's finals at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The Golden Bears' varsity 4+ recorded a second-place finish in its final. The Cal varsity 8+ came in fourth and the second varsity 8+ finished third. Virginia won the NCAA title with 87 points. Cal came in second with 82 points and Princeton in third with 76 points.

"The Virginia program certainly deserved this championship," head coach Dave O'Neill said. "Congratulations to Coach Kevin Sauer and the entire team. Yale has been terrific in the varsity eight the last few years, and they put on a show again today."

This marks Cal's eighth top-four finish in the last 12 years and its second straight second-place finish in the national regatta. The Bears have won the NCAA team title twice in school history (2005, 2006).

Cal's varsity 8+ was in fourth place from start to finish. Yale took first with a time of 6:24.76 and Virginia came in second at 6:25.75. Princeton was just able to edge the Bears to the finish line, 6:27.06-6:27.60. Cal's varsity 8+ was coxed by Jill Costello. The senior, who has been battling lung cancer since last June, competed in her final race as a Bear on Sunday.

"Everyone on the team raced their hearts out today, and we have no regrets whatsoever," O'Neill said. "This is a special team, and it was a very special year. I'm proud of everyone, especially Jill Costello. She's the most courageous person I've had the pleasure to coach, and she's made a huge difference for everyone on this team."

In the second varsity 8+, the Bears got off to a slow start, finding themselves in fifth place after the first split. Cal moved into third in the second split, and that's where the Bears finished with a time of 6:31.96. Brown finished first at 6:25.72 and Stanford was second at 6:30.45. Cal was slowly gaining on the Cardinal, but it wasn't enough to catch Stanford in time.

The best finish of the day was in Cal's first race, the varsity 4+. The Bears came in second (7:13.18) to Virginia. The Cavaliers won the race with a time of 7:07.98. Virginia took a commanding lead by the second split, and increased its lead as the race went on. The Bears were able to hold off third-place Wisconsin, which past USC in the final split and took third at 7:13.72.

2010 NCAA Championships Final Standings

1. Virginia 87
2. Cal 82
3. Princeton 76
4. Stanford 75
5. Brown 71
6. Yale 66
7. Wisconsin 55
8. USC 52
9. Michigan St. 51
10. Washington 43
11. Michigan 43
12. UCLA 31
13. Washington St. 29
14. Ohio St. 22
15. Clemson 21
16. Tennessee 12

California Results - May 30

Varsity 8+

1. Yale 6:24.76, 2. Virginia 6:25.75, 3. Princeton 6:27.06, 4. California 6:27.60, 5. Stanford 6:31.30, 6. USC 6:34.21
Cal lineup: Cox: Jill Costello, 8. Kristina Lofman, 7. Iva Obradovic, 6. Kara Kohler, 5. Mary Jeghers, 4. Elise Etem, 3. Shay Seager, 2. Taryn O'Connell, 1. Caroline Rosetti

Second Varsity 8+
1. Brown 6:25.72, 2. Stanford 6:30.45, 3. California 6:31.96, 4. Virginia 6:35.94, 5. Princeton 6:37.74, 6. Michigan 6:40.34
Cal lineup: Cox: Lynn Anderson, 8. Bridget Moran, 7. Erica Rippe, 6. Kirsten Campbell, 5. Avalon Radys, 4. Nora Franzen, 3. Sam Sartor, 2. Maggie Simpson, 1. Laurel Kuhn

Varsity 4+
1. Virginia 7:07.98, 2. California 7:13.18, 3. Wisconsin 7:13.72, 4. USC 7:14.87, 5. Brown 7:18.49, 6. Washington 7:19.31
Cal lineup Cox: Erica Bellis, 4. Jenn Helssen, 3. Charlotte Palmer, 2. Taylor Christensen, 1. Katie Caves