CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 9 California put itself into position to have a top three finish heading into the V8+ grand final at the ACC Championships at Lake Hartwell on Saturday morning as it was tied with Virginia for third place with 62 points going into the final race. The Golden Bears were ultimately edged out by the Cavaliers by just over a second in the V8+ grand final to finish in third place. That moved the Bears into fourth place in the final standings with 102 points – just two shy of third place and four short of second place. Stanford finished in first place in all five grand finals to earn the ACC Championship title. The 2V4+ had the highest finish for the Bears coming in second place in their grand final.
 
Junior Minou Bouman was named to the All-ACC First Team while senior Julia Hunt-Davis and sophomore Ella Wheeler were named to the Second Team following the conclusion of the races.
 
In the 3V8+ final, the race was fairly even through the first 250 meters with Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame and Virginia just slightly ahead of the pack. The Cardinal pulled ahead by a boat length over the Bears and Irish who were neck and neck for second position. Over the third 500 meters, Notre Dame built a half-boat lead over Cal, Virginia and Syracuse who were all within a seat of each other in third position. The Bears charged hard in the closing 500 meters and finished just over a second behind the Irish for third place and less than just a second over the Cavaliers and Orange.
 
In the 2V4+ final, Cal and Virginia were even with each other in second position through about 750 meters with Stanford having an open-water lead over the rest of the field. The Bears made a move and took a bow to stern lead over the Cavaliers after the halfway mark. Cal held off charges from Virginia and North Carolina over the final 500 meters and was able to hang on to finish in second place.
 
In the V4+ final, Cal and North Carolina were even with each other in third position behind Syracuse in the opening 250 meters. The Bears put themselves solidly in third position over the second 500 meters and were a half boat behind the Orange. Cal dropped three seats to Syracuse over the third 500 meters and held a three-seat lead over North Carolina. In the closing 500 meters, the Tarheels pulled even with the Bears and it was neck and neck to the finish, but Cal was able to win by a half second over North Carolina for third place.
 
In the 2V8+ final, Cal fell behind early, sitting in fourth position after the first 15 strokes. The Bears continued to sit in the back of the pack and dropped to fifth position by the halfway mark, about a half-boat behind Syracuse. Cal and SMU were even in the back of the pack over the last 500 meters and the Mustangs made a push and edged out the Bears by three seats for fifth place.
 
In the pivotal V8+ final, Cal jumped out with Stanford and Virginia to form the lead pack after 250 meters. By the halfway mark, Stanford was well ahead of the pack and Cal was about a boat length behind Virginia. The Bears made a move and were able to walk back four seats on the Cavaliers as the boats entered the final 500 meters. Cal continued to charge and came within two seats of Virginia but was ultimately edged and finished in third place just over a second behind the Cavaliers.
 
"The team did a great job at our first ACC championship," head coach Al Acosta said. "As a whole, I was impressed with how we managed the travel and final exams and then came out and raced really hard today. As a team we're very confident that we can make the requisite changes, get healthy and go faster at NCAAs."
 
NEXT UP
Cal will have next week off and awaits the announcement of the field for the NCAA Championships which take place at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey on May 30 – June 1. The official selection show will air on May 20 at 2 p.m. PT.
 
Final Standings
1. Stanford – 132 points
2. Virginia – 106 points
3. Syracuse – 104 points
4. Cal – 102 points
5. Duke – 89 points
6. North Carolina – 68 points
7. Clemson – 67 points
8. SMU – 50 points
9. Notre Dame – 50 points
10. Louisville – 39 points
11. Miami – 34 points
12. Boston College – 17 points
 
Saturday Results
 
V8+ grand final
1. Stanford - 05:58.627
2. Virginia - 06:08.200
3. California - 06:09.550
4. Syracuse - 06:13.804
5. Duke - 06:20.507
6. Clemson - 06:23.657
 
2V8+ grand final
1. Stanford - 06:08.550
2. Virginia - 06:14.900
3. Syracuse - 06:21.327
4. Duke - 06:23.517
5. SMU - 06:28.780
6. California - 06:29.873
 
V4+ grand final
1. Stanford - 06:53.204
2. Syracuse - 06:59.184
3. California - 07:03.130
4. North Carolina - 07:03.690
5. Duke - 07:05.934
6. Clemson - 07:18.074
 
3V8+ grand final
1. Stanford - 06:27.126
2. Notre Dame - 06:32.719
3. California - 06:33.889
4. Syracuse - 06:34.433
5. Virginia - 06:34.649
6. North Carolina - 06:38.199
 
2V4+ grand final
1. Stanford - 06:58.444
2. California - 07:05.754
3. North Carolina - 07:07.248
4. Virginia - 07:08.794
5. Duke - 07:13.094
6. Syracuse - 07:17.404
 
Friday Results
 
V8+ heat 2
1. California - 06:18.966
2. Syracuse - 06:20.879
3. Clemson - 06:28.339
4. Louisville - 06:28.729
5. SMU - 06:33.999
6. Notre Dame - 06:37.769
 
2V8+ heat 2
1. Syracuse - 06:30.026
2. California - 06:33.399
3. SMU - 06:35.532
4. Clemson - 06:39.532
5. Louisville - 06:43.286
6. Miami - 06:48.786
 
V4+ heat 2
1. Syracuse - 07:05.751
2. California - 07:09.514
3. North Carolina - 07:12.957
4. Miami - 07:30.021
5. SMU - 07:32.114
6. Louisville - 07:37.774
 
2V4+ heat 2
1. California - 07:19.830
2. Virginia - 07:26.263
3. Syracuse - 07:33.650
4. Clemson - 07:40.673
5. Boston College - 07:55.256
6. SMU - 08:08.320
 
3V8+ heat 2
1. California - 06:42.526
2. Syracuse - 06:43.716
3. North Carolina - 06:44.759
4. Duke - 06:46.036
5. Boston College - 07:04.839
6. Miami - 07:07.099
 
Lineups
V8+
Coxswain - Piper Melnick
8. Della Luke
7. Minou Bouman
6. Ella Berger
5. Julia Hunt-Davis
4. Shannon Kearney
3. Star Rose Miller
2. Ella Wheeler
1. Izzy Campbell
 
2V8+
Coxswain - Julia Fullington
8. Julia Irmler
7. Lily Pember
6. Lily Abbott
5. Lola Crampin
4. Olivia Roth
3. Amy Furlonger
2. Katie McDermott
1. Sophie Ward
 
V4+
Coxswain - Kira Obsitnik
4. Alex Pearson
3. Ella Lewerenz
2. Annie Brown
1. Madeline Cox
 
2V4+
Coxswain - Samantha Jaffe
4. Vivi Spitz
3. Zara Hoadley
2. Miya Meskis
1. Zoe McKernan
 
3V8+
Coxswain - Emily Nowak
8. Claire Banks
7. Allegra O'Sullivan
6. Francesca Hammerer
5. Gwyneth Fagg
4. Pippa Jamieson
3. Maude Smith-Montross
2. Charlotte Hill
1. Filippa Ljunggren
 
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