USC
NCAA Championships
USC Finishes Fifth After Strong NCAA Championship
May 29, 2011 | Women's Rowing
May 29, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The No. 5 USC women's rowing team closed out their successful season with a fifth place finish at the 2011 NCAA Rowing Championships at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center Sunday (May 27).
For the first time in school history USC had three boats in the Grand Final. The Trojans Varsity Eight finished fifth in 6:30.19, the Second Varsity Eight finished sixth in 6:37.83 while the Varsity Four's finished third in 7:12.73.
USC, making its fifth team appearance at the NCAA's, finished fifth with 72 points. Brown and Stanford both finished with 85 points but the team title went to Brown as a result of a higher finish in the Varsity Eight race. Cal was third (83), followed by Princeton (72) who also placed higher due to finishing ahead of USC in the Varsity Eight Final. Virginia was sixth (69), followed by Michigan State (55), Washington (54), Wisconsin (44), Ohio State (44), Yale (42), Washington State (39), Michigan (33), Harvard (17), Clemson (12) and Dartmouth (10).
The Trojans appearance in the Varsity Eight Grand Final on Sunday was its fifth in program history and best finish since placing third in 2007. The Varsity Four's entry into the Grand Final was the team's fourth, while Sunday's third place finish is the highest the boat has placed since winning in 1998. The Second Varsity Eight made its first appearance in the Grand Final in USC history, marking a significant step forward for the program.
USC's Varsity Four, of cox Caroline Trawick, Gabriela Zarate-DeMacedo, Caroline Sederowsky, Rachel Moll, Melanie Grindle finished a strong third in 7:12.73 to earn a spot on the awards podium and claim an NCAA trophy for Troy. Cal won the race in 7:09.60 followed by Virginia (7:11.39). Washington was fourth (7:17.51), Wisconsin fifth (7:17.74) and Stanford sixth (7:18.08).
USC's Second Varsity Eight lineup, of cox Tanya Ouyang, Vineta Moca, Jelena Miladinovic, Kajsa Olsson, Liene Stuberovska, Marlena Adamska, Anna Janicka, Kinga Mikolajczyk, and Ewa Tymoszewska finished sixth in 6:37.83. Stanford was first (6:26.76), followed by Brown (6:29.76), Cal (6:31.70), Ohio State (6:33.42) and Virginia (6:37.20).
USC's First Varsity Eight lineup, of cox Dionne Licudine, Ivana Filipovic, Maria Wilgotsson, Lenka Vrecnikova, Magda Janicka, Anna Wierzbowska, Jelena Zelenovic, Iskra Angelova, and Helen Tinkus finished fifth in 6:30.19. Princeton won the race in 6:27.12 with Brown second (6:28.62), Stanford third (6:28.67), Cal fourth (6:30.06) and Michigan State sixth (6:36.12).
Unlike the day's previous events, the race was affected by a bothersome cross-headwind from the starboard side which resulted in challenging conditions. The Trojans were hit especially hard as their No. 1 lane position turned out to be a disadvantage and they were never able to challenge teams in the sheltered center lanes.
"This was a great week for our program and we made strides on many levels," said Head Coach Zenon Babraj. "Things didn't go quite the way we had hoped but we are headed in the right direction and that is exciting. We are hungry for more, hungry to improve. With the group we have coming back I think we are more than capable of that next year."
Players Mentioned
