BETHEL, Ohio – The No. 6 California women's rowing team battled hard on the second day of the NCAA Championships at Harsha Lake Saturday morning. The Golden Bears' trio of crews – the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four – all landed fourth in their respective heats, just one place short of qualifying for the Grand Finals. The three boats will all return to action tomorrow for the Petite Finals.
 
The varsity eight was first out on the water for the Bears. Cal had a tough competition field, with all but one team in the heat ranked in the top 10 nationally. There was not a lot of separation between the six boats at the start of the race, but Cal started strong and managed to pull into the early lead at the first 500-meter split. Stanford pulled ahead to claim the first position in the second 500 meters but the Bears forged on and battled with Brown and Princeton for positioning. The teams stayed connected down the stretch of the course and Princeton pulled soundly into second, leaving a Bear fight between Cal and Brown for third place as the race came to a close. Cal was dangerous as it sprinted to the finish line, but the team's efforts fell just short as it crossed the line in fourth place with a final time of 6:20.264.
 
Next up for the Bears was the second varsity eight, who also faced four top-10 ranked teams in its heat. The Bears started well and slotted themselves into the third-place position at the first 500-meter mark behind Washington and Yale. Mere hundredths-of-seconds separated the crews battling for third place at the midway point of the race. Cal was on the attack in the last 500 meters and gained some serious momentum as it came towards the finish, with the Bears clawing at the heels of Princeton for third place, but the Bears' effort was not enough as they crossed the line in fourth place with a time of 6:32.994.
 
Cal's varsity four boat was the last to compete on the day. Similar to yesterday's heat, Cal was a quick starter and came out strong. Facing the likes of ranked opponents Texas, Yale and Washington, the Bears forged ahead and found themselves in fourth place just one second behind the Huskies at the first 500-meter split. Cal maintained its positioning in the field through the next 1000 meters, chasing the Huskies in pursuit of the third-place position. Despite their hard fought battle, the Bears crossed the line fourth with a 7:21.749 time.
 
"Although we didn't finish today where we would like to have finished, the racing was hard fought and the expectations are to race harder tomorrow," Cal head coach Al Acosta said. "Our first eight put their bow ball ahead of Stanford for about 600 meters, but didn't have enough juice to finish it off. I'm proud of the risk they, and the 2V8+ and four took today. The team has taken some big steps forward this year and we have a great opportunity to take another one tomorrow."
 
With Cal's three crews falling just outside of the top-three places in their respective heats, the Bears will move on to the Petite Finals tomorrow morning. The fours will kick off the final day of action at 8:48 a.m. EDT. All races will be streamed live here.

Sunday, June 2, Race Schedule (all times EDT):
 
8:48 a.m. – V4+ - Petite Final
Lanes 1-6: Syracuse, Rutgers, Michigan, California (4), Brown, Pennsylvania
 
9:04 a.m. – 2V8+ - Petite Final
Lanes 1-6: Pennsylvania, Ohio State, California (3), Michigan, Brown, Virginia
 
9:20 a.m. – V8+ - Petite Final
Lanes 1-6: Syracuse, Yale, California (3), Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio State
 
Saturday, June 1, Results:
V8+ A/B Semifinal 2
1. Stanford – 6:14.840
2. Princeton – 6:17.191
3. Brown – 6:18.740
4. California – 6:20.264
5. Pennsylvania – 6:24.464
6. Syracuse – 6:25.255
 
2V8+ A/B Semifinal 2
1. Washington – 6:28.157
2. Yale – 6:30.774
3. Princeton – 6:31.557
4. California – 6:32.994
5. Brown – 6:37.500
6. Pennsylvania – 6:37.836
 
V4+ A/B Semifinal 1
1. Texas – 7:07.397
2. Yale – 7:12.204
3. Washington – 7:16.534
4. California – 7:21.549
5. Rutgers – 7:24.795
6. Pennsylvania – 7:29.765
 
Lineups:
V8+
Coxswain – Piper Melnick
Stroke: Minou Bouman
7: Lotta van Westreenen 
6: Julia Hunt-Davis 
5: Antonia Galland 
4: Star Rose Miller
3: Ella Wheeler
2: Fien van Westreenen 
Bow: Amy Furlonger 
 
2V8+
Coxswain – Lily Wieland 
Stroke: Giulia Bosio
7: Sophie Ward 
6: Tabo Stekelenburg 
5: Ella Berger
4: Julia Irmler
3: Lola Crampin
2: Izzy Campbell
Bow: Sammie Henriksen

V4+
Coxswain – Charley Griffiths 
4: Miya Meskis
3: Zoe McKernan
2: Katie McDermott
1: Megan Culbert 
 
Spares – Ella Lewerenz and Francesca Hammerer 
 
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