PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – The No. 9 California Golden Bears women's rowing team faced some tough competition in each of its semifinal as the second varsity eight was the sole boat to advance to the Grand Final finishing second in its semi at Cooper River Park Saturday morning. The varsity eight and varsity four will compete in the Petite Finals as they fell outside the top three in their semis.
 
The varsity eight's semifinal included three of the top six teams in the country. In the opening few hundred meters, Cal was even with Syracuse in fourth place and just a half length behind Texas. The Bears fell behind to fifth place by the halfway mark with open water behind the top three boats. Cal was unable to make up ground with the top three boats and finished in sixth place with a time of 06:25.811 to advance to the Petite Final on Sunday.
 
In the second varsity eight, Cal got out with the leading pack in the opening few hundred meters and stayed connected with Yale and Stanford. The Bears were just two seats back of Yale and half length behind Stanford in the second 500 meters. Cal built an open water lead ahead of the rest of the field and had a solid grasp on the third position by the halfway mark. The Bears walked back a few seats on Yale and pulled nearly even over the last 500 and eventually overtook the Bulldogs, edged them out to finish in second place in 06:20.032 and secured a spot in the Grand Final Sunday.
 
In the varsity four, the Bears got out to a good start and were just a couple of seats back of Yale and Stanford in the opening few hundred meters.  Cal stayed connected with Yale and Stanford and was a few seats ahead of Brown through the first 500 meters. By the halfway point, Brown walked Cal down and took just a one-seat lead for the third position. In the closing 500 meters, the Bears were able to pull even but Brown was able to hold them off with a strong push and finished just two seconds ahead.  Cal finished with a time of 07:13.416 in fourth place to just miss the Grand Final on Sunday.
 
"The four and the second eight were really good today," Cal head coach Al Acosta said. "It's unfortunate that the four didn't get their bow ahead of Brown, but I think they had their best race of the year. The second eight rowed harder and more aggressively than they did yesterday. It was great to see them find the extra gear today. The first eight had a disappointing race. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to make the A final, and a coach's job is to help take the pressure off and set them up to perform at their best. I don't think I did a good job of that today. Fortunately, we'll have multiple opportunities tomorrow to get it right and to race like Cal is supposed to race."
 
Cal will return to the water Sunday morning for the final rounds. The V4+ will lead things off for the Bears, racing at 9:24 a.m. EDT. All three races will be streamed live at NCAA.com here.
 
Results
 
V8+ Semifinal 1
1. Princeton - 06:13.423
2. Pennsylvania - 06:13.913
3. Texas - 06:14.471
4. Syracuse - 06:19.547
5. SMU - 06:24.055
6. California - 06:25.811
 
2V8+ Semifinal 1
1. Stanford - 06:16.634
2. California - 06:20.032
3. Yale - 06:20.346
4. Michigan - 06:25.934
5. Ohio St - 06:26.830
6. Pennsylvania - 06:30.340
 
V4+ Semifinal 1
1. Yale - 07:03.778
2. Stanford - 07:08.356
3. Brown - 07:11.552
4. California - 07:13.416
5. Ohio St - 07:16.750
6. SMU - 07:24.106
 
Sunday Schedule – Finals (all times EDT)
 
V4+
Petite Final – 9:24 a.m.
Lanes 1-6: SMU, Michigan, Cal (3), Washington, Ohio State, Duke
 
2V8+
Grand Final – 10:00 a.m.
Lanes 1-6: Princeton, Cal (2), Washington, Stanford, Texas, Yale
 
V8+
Petite Final – 10:12 a.m.
Lanes 1-6: Cal (1), Virginia, Syracuse, Michigan, SMU, Brown
 
Lineups
V8
Coxswain: Kaitlyn Turner
Stroke: Giulia Bosio
7: Jane Perrignon
6: Sophie Ward
5: Issy Cassidy
4: Star Rose Miller
3: Antonia Galland
2: Fien van Westreenen
Bow: Della Luke
 
2V8
Coxswain: Piper Melnick
Stroke: Minou Bouman
7: Lotta van Westreenen
6: Julia Hunt-Davis
5: Amy Furlonger
4: Nicole Weber
3: Annabel Oertel
2: Angela Szabo
Bow: Sophie Faliero
 
V4+
Coxswain: Charley Griffiths
4: Megan Culbert
3: Miya Meskis
2: Ella Berger
1: Katie McDermott
 
STAY POSTED
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