May 31, 1998

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - The Cal women's varsity eight closed out the 1998 racing season with a fourth place finish in the petite final of the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on Lake Lanier which earned the Bears the No. 10 ranking in the country.

"Of course we aspired to reach the grand final," said Marisa Hurtado. "We raced well over the course of the championships, but we were up against some very fast competition."

In the petite final, the Bears got off the line with the other crews, but after the first 500, they found themselves down 5 seconds to leaders Princeton and Harvard. When the field had crossed the 1000-meter mark, Princeton had pulled away from Harvard while Michigan State and Cal began to press the Crimson for a piece of second place. Entering the final 500 meters of the race, the only result that remained in question was the battle for third. The Spartan's strong sprint eventually decided the battle as the Bears had no choice but to settle for fourth.

NCAA Women's Rowing Championships
Gainesville, GA

Grand Final
1. Washington 6:52:00
2. UMass 6:55.3
3. Brown 6:57.0
4. Northeastern 7:00:7
5. Michigan 7:02.2
6. Virginia 7:08:60

Petite Final
1. Princeton 7:00:60
2. Harvard 7:03:70
3. Michigan State 7:07:10
4. California 7:10:70
5. Georgetown 7:13:80
6. Dartmouth 7:14:20