Wisconsin Takes Second at NCAA Central/South Regional
May 14, 2006 | Women's Rowing
The chances of Wisconsin qualifying for its third straight NCAA rowing championships appeared slim before the weekend, but the Badgers made a strong case for selection by finishing second at the 2006 NCAA Central/South Regional, Sunday on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Following up a stellar first day with an equally fine second day, No. 20 Wisconsin totaled 361 points to place second as a team, just five points behind No. 4 Ohio State. Ohio State won the regional for the fourth-straight time. Wisconsin earned the runner-up spot by taking fourth in the varsity eight, second in the second varsity eight, third in the varsity four, first in the novice eight and third in the open four.
The Badgers, who took fifth as a team just two weeks ago at the 2006 Big Ten Rowing Championships, including fifth-place finishes in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight, responded this weekend. Even counting only the three NCAA events ' the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four ' the Badgers would have taken second behind the Buckeyes. Seven of the 21 teams racing in the event were ranked ahead of Wisconsin.
'We had a great day today,' head coach Bebe Bryans said. 'We just performed wonderfully as a team across the board. Everybody just kept the flow going. They just knew it wasn't a matter of being spectacular, but it was a matter of being solid and being steady and letting themselves shine.'
Wisconsin opened Sunday with the open four grand final, taking a respectable third place and nine points in the event. Ohio State won and earned 11 points with a time of 7:40.70 over 2,000 meters. Tennessee was second with a 7:44.34, followed by the UW in 7:45.45.
Wisconsin then captured a regional title in the novice eight, thereby completing the season unbeaten as a boat despite a handful of different lineups throughout the campaign due to promotions to the UW varsity boats. In this race, Wisconsin earned 28 points and nearly a two-second victory with a 6:50.60. Michigan's 6:52.44 earned second place.
The first NCAA event was next as the UW, despite qualifying in an outside lane in lane No. 1, raced to third place and gathered 48 points. Virginia won in 7:22.00, followed by Ohio State's 7:26.95 and the Badgers' 7:29.60.
Wisconsin's best varsity performance of the weekend came in the second varsity eight. After posting the fastest times in both the heats and the semifinals, the UW finished second behind Ohio State. The Buckeyes won the race in 6:34.20 and earned 120 points. Wisconsin's 6:36.17 was good for 114 points.
Finally in the headline race, the varsity eight, Wisconsin captured fourth place for the second year running, timing a 6:28.79 in a close race. The Badgers earned 162 points with the result. No. 10 Notre Dame earned a surprising victory in the event, clocking 6:26.00 and leading five boats that finished within 3.07 second of each other. Ohio State was second in 6:26.82, while unranked Tennessee took third in 6:27.34 and No. 9 Minnesota finished fifth in 6:29.07.
'If I had to pick a top performance of the day, it would be both the novice eight and varsity four,' stated Bryans. 'In the novice eight, we've taken four people out of there and lost one more to injury. They were still able to come from behind and push through and win that race. And also the varsity four, coming into the final, were not expected to be a contender, but earned a solid third place finish and really locked in a great racing day for the varsity boats. Everybody performed well, everybody stepped up. It was great.'
Wisconsin now awaits word of its possible third-straight big to the NCAA rowing championships. The announcement for the 12-team, NCAA rowing championships field, held May 26-28 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J., will be made Tuesday at 2 p.m. CT. An addition four at-large varsity eight entries will also be chosen to race.
'I don't want to use words like unbelievable and fantastic, because this is the way it is supposed to be, but it was all of those things and we are looking forward to two more weeks,' concluded Bryans. 'We think we have a solid chance now at being able to get two more weeks. We are just so looking forward to having the opportunity to keep this going and to keep getting faster and I think it looks good for us to be able to do that.'
