USC
NCAA Championships
Trojans Finish Eighth After Strong NCAA Championships
May 30, 2010 | Women's Rowing
May 30, 2010
USC's No. 10 women's rowing team completed one of its best NCAA performances on Sunday (May 30), finishing eighth overall at the 2010 NCAA Rowing Championships at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif.
For the first time in school history, USC had two boats race in Grand Finals. The Trojans' Varsity Eight finished sixth in 6:34.21 while USC's Varsity Four took fourth in 7:14.87.
USC, making its fourth team appearance at the NCAAs, finished eighth with 52 points. Virginia won the team title with 87 points. California was second (82) and was followed by Princeton (76), Stanford (75), Brown (71), Yale (66), Wisconsin (55), USC, Michigan State (51), UCLA (31), Washington State (29), Ohio State (22), Clemson (21) and Tennessee (12).
"The future is very exciting for us," said USC Head Coach Zenon Babraj after the Trojans' second-best NCAA finish in program history.
The Trojans' appearance in the Varsity Eight Grand Final on Sunday was its fourth in program history and the first since finishing third in 2007. USC also was sixth in the race in 2003 and fourth in 2001. The Varsity Four's entry into the Grand Final was the team's third. USC finished sixth in the race in 2005 and won it in 1998.
USC's Varsity Eight of cox Dionne Licudine, Ivana Filipovic, Liene Bertasjus, Lenka Vrecnikova, Helen Tinkus, Anna Wierzbowska, Maria Wilgotsson, Iskra Angelova and Ewa Tymoszewska finished in 6:34.21. Yale won the race in 6:24.76 with Virginia second (6:25.65), Princeton third (6:27.06), Cal fourth (6:27.60), Stanford fifth (6:31.30) and USC sixth.
The Trojans were vying for fifth place with Stanford when Wilgotsson's footstretcher broke off with more than half of the race left.
"It broke right off and that makes it extremely challenging to row," Babraj said, "But the boat still maintained contact with Stanford and finished strong."
USC's Varsity Four of cox Caroline Trawick, Carin Andersson, Caroline Sederowsky, Kate McFetridge and Kinga Mikolajczyk finished in 7:14.87. Virginia was first (7:07.98) with Cal second (7:13.18), Wisconsin third (7:13.72), USC fourth, Brown fifth (7:18.49) and Washington sixth (7:19.31). USC was third after fourth after 500 meters, edged in front of Wisconsin over the next 1000 meters before falling slightly behind the Badgers by race's end.
"The Varsity Four was a heartbreaker," Babraj said. "They were in third until the last few hundred meters. It was a great race." Troy's Second Varsity Eight of cox Jennah Blau, Marlena Adamska, Andrea Vehovec, Ewelina Nowak, Jelena Zelenovic, Gabriela Zarate-DeMacedo, Magda Janicka, Jana Vyhnankova and Anna Janicka competed in the Third Final, where it finished second in 6:43.99 (14th overall). Tennessee won the race (6:41.50) with UCLA third (6:46.49) and Clemson fourth (6:50.77).
"The second varsity is still growing," said Babraj. "With the group of kids we have coming in, the expectations for next year will be much higher."
Players Mentioned
