Host Cal Rows in NCAA Championships Starting Friday on Lake Natoma

May 27, 2008

BERKELEY - Host California will seek its third national title in four years when it competes in the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships May 30-June 1 at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Cal is familiar with the course, as the Bears are coming off a Pac-10 championship performance on May 18 on Lake Natoma. Head coach Dave O'Neill also led his 2005 Bears to the NCAA championship the last time the national regatta was held on the Sacramento-area lake.

Gold River is located 28 minutes east of Sacramento.

This year's strong NCAA field includes 12 teams - Cal, defending champion Brown, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale - and four at-large varsity eight boats from Clemson, Michigan, Stanford and USC.

The top 16 varsity eights in the May 21 USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national poll will row this weekend, including Cal's own No. 1-ranked varsity eight. The Bears claimed the program's fifth Pac-10 varsity eight title and led Cal to its fourth conference team title in five years in their last visit to Lake Natoma.

The rest of the varsity eights competing at NCAAs are No. 2 Brown, No. 3 Yale, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 Harvard, No. 8 Princeton, No. 9 Washington State, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 USC, No. 12 Clemson, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Washington, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 16 Ohio State.

Cal is also the host of the Division II and III NCAA Women's Rowing Championships, which will take place together with the Division I championships starting on May 30 on Lake Natoma. The Division II regatta will run through June 1, while the Division III competition ends on May 31.

The Bears have qualified for the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships each year under O'Neill, who took over head coaching duties at Cal in 1999. The Bears won the national title in 2005 and 2006 and have claimed six top-five finishes overall. Last year, Cal placed seventh at NCAAs in Oak Ridge, Tenn., with its second varsity eight taking second place, its varsity four finishing third and its varsity eight ending up 13th. In its two championship seasons, the Cal varsity four and second varsity eight each finished second twice, and the Bears' varsity eight won the national title in 2005 and placed second in 2006.

Cal received at-large berths for its varsity eight in 1997 and 1998, the first two years the NCAA sponsored the regatta. The Bears also won the National Women's Rowing Association (NWRA) title in 1980.

Live Results/Ticket Information
JamcoTimes.com will provide live splits and results from the national regatta, while NCAA.com will provide a live Webcast of the championships. For ticket information to the championships, please call 1-800-GO-BEARS or visit CalBears.com.

For more information on the 2008 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships, please visit the event's official Web site at Natoma08.com.

Cal-Sacramento-Area Connections
These are the Cal athletes' connections to the Sacramento area: - The varsity eight includes two Bears who grew up near the California capital: Senior rower Candice Rediger, who calls Gold River home, and junior rower Elena Humphreys, whose hometown of Carmichael is 22 minutes from Sacramento. Both attended Rio Americano HS and rowed for the Capital Crew club. - Two members of Cal's varsity four grew up close to Sacramento: Sophomore rower Kelsey Bates, a product of Fair Oaks who attended Bella Vista HS, rowed for Capital Crew along with junior rower Melissa Herman, who is from Rocklin and went to Saint Francis HS. - The area produced three of Cal's sophomore coxswains, as Erica Bellis and Katie Luke hail both from Folsom and went to Folsom HS, while Becky Pacheco is a Davis product who attended Davis Senior HS. - Sophomore rower Alexis Campbell-Craven is from Shingle Springs and went to Ponderosa HS.

2008 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships Schedule

Friday, May 30
8:00 a.m. Division I - I Eights Heat 1
8:15 a.m. Division I - I Eights Heat 2
8:30 a.m. Division I - I Eights Heat 3
8:45 a.m. Division III - Eights Heat 1
9:00 a.m. Division III - Eights Heat 2
9:15 a.m. Division II - Eights Heat 1
9:30 a.m. Division II - Eights Heat 2
9:45 a.m. Division I - II Eights Heat 1
10:00 a.m. Division I - II Eights Heat 2
10:15 a.m. Division II - II Fours Heat 1
10:45 a.m. Division I - Fours Heat 1
11:00 a.m. Division I - Fours Heat 2
1:00 p.m. Division I - I Eights Repechage
1:15 p.m. Division III - Petite Qualifier
1:30 p.m. Division III - Grand Qualifier

Saturday, May 31
6:00-7:00 a.m. Practice
8:00 a.m. Division I - I Eights Semifinal Heat 1
8:15 a.m. Division I - I Eights Semifinal Heat 2
8:30 a.m. Division I - Fours Repechage
9:00 a.m. Division I - II Eights Repechage
9:30 a.m. Division II - Eights Repechage
9:45 a.m. Division II - Fours Repechage
10:00 a.m. Division III - Petite Final (Places 7-9)
10:15 a.m. Division III - Grand Final (Places 1-6)
11:00 a.m. Division III - Awards Ceremony
2:00-4:00 p.m. Practice

Sunday, June 1
7:15-8:15 a.m. Practice
9:15 a.m. Division II - Fours Grand Final (Places 1-3)
9:30 a.m. Division II - Eights Petite Final (Places 5-6)
9:45 a.m. Division II - Eights Grand Final (Places 1-4)
10:00 a.m. Division I - Fours Petite Final (Places 7-12)
10:15 a.m. Division I - Fours Grand Final (Places 1-6)
10:30 a.m. Division I - II Eights Petite Final (Places 7-12)
10:45 a.m. Division I - II Eights Grand Final (Places 1-6)
11:00 a.m. Division I - I Eights Third Final (Places 13-16)
11:15 a.m. Division I - I Eights Petite Final (Places 7-12)
11:30 a.m. Division I - I Eights Grand Final (Places 1-6)
12:00 p.m. Division II - Awards Ceremony
12:30 p.m. Division I - Awards Ceremony

Scouting the Golden Bears
Here is the projected lineup for Cal's varsity eight, featuring the Bears who won the 2008 Pac-10 varsity eight crown: Coxswain - Junior Krista Ellis. 8 - Senior Candice Rediger. 7 - Senior co-captain Mara Allen. 6 - Junior Elena Humphreys. 5 - Sophomore Taryn O'Connell. 4 - Freshman Mary Jeghers. 3 - Senior Onna Poeter. 2 - Junior co-captain Lou Kinder. 1 - Senior Ali Seders.

Here is the projected lineup for Cal's second varsity eight, which won the Pac-10 title: Coxswain - Junior Katy Milton. 8 - Sophomore Adrienne Keller. 7 - Senior Summer Ohlendorf. 6 - Junior Kaiti Seders. 5 - Sophomore Kirsten Campbell. 4 - Junior Lauren Nowinski. 3 - Freshman Bridget Moran. 2 - Junior Sam Silvia. 1 - Senior Maggie Devine.

Here is the projected lineup for Cal's varsity four, which placed second at the 2008 conference regatta to first-place Washington. Cal's V4 has lost just twice this season, both times to the Huskies: Coxswain - Sophomore Jill Costello. 8 - Freshman Sam Sartor. 3 - Junior Emmie Koenig. 2 - Sophomore Kelsey Bates. 1 - Junior Melissa Herman.

Pac-10 Rowing Championships - May 18 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
At the 2008 Pac-10 Rowing Championships, Cal won three of four races, including the varsity eight event, to claim its fourth conference title in five years. Cal compiled 79 points, while Stanford (61) was second and Washington (59) was third. The Bears improved on last year's performance by one spot, while USC, which won the conference title in 2007, fell to sixth this year.

Cal's varsity eight led from early on and posted a time of 6:38.8 to Stanford's 6:42.7. Washington was third in 6:44.7.

The Bears edged Oregon State in the second varsity eight, 6:50.9-6:52.3, and easily surpassed second-place Washington in the freshman or novice eight, 7:14.2-7:21.9. Cal was behind early to Washington in the novice eight race but caught and passed the Huskies at about the 1,250-meter mark. Cal took second in the varsity four to Washington, 7:39.6-7:43.0. The Bears' results in the freshman eight and varsity four were particularly impressive considering the Bears finished last in both races in the 2007 conference regatta.

Stanford Dual - May 3 on Redwood Shores Lagoon in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal's varsity eight defeated Pac-10 rivals Washington and Stanford in successive weeks, with the Bears sweeping the Cardinal in three races in the Big Row. Against Stanford, Cal's varsity eight won by more than four seconds, 6:25.77-6:29.87. The Bears also won the second varsity eight (6:47.27-6:58.08) and varsity four (7:39.66-7:56.78) races against the Cardinal.

Washington Dual - April 26 on Redwood Shores Lagoon in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Cal won two of four races over the Huskies, winning the varsity eight race, 6:33.51-6:37.55, and defeating the Huskies in the novice eight, 7:00.44-7:03.13. Washington beat Cal in the second varsity eight, 6:44.81-6:47.92, and varsity four, 7:27.69-7:38.31.

Texas Dual - April 12 on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas
Cal swept Texas in four races in its first trip to the Lone Star State. The Bears claimed the varsity eight race by a time of 6:20.2 to the Longhorns' 6:38.2. Cal's varsity four won the first race against Texas, with a time of 7:25.2 to the Longhorns' 7:52.8. Next up, Cal's novice eight beat Texas, 6:49.1-6:53.9. In the second varsity eight race, Cal triumphed, 6:33.5-6:51.9.

Pac-10 Challenge - March 29-30 on Redwood Shores Lagoon in Redwood Shores, Calif.
The Bears opened the 2008 season with fine performances at the Stanford-hosted Pac-10 Challenge. The Cal varsity eight, which was then ranked No. 9 in the coaches' poll, defeated then-No. 2 Virginia, 6:51.36-6:54.86 and then-No. 5 Ohio State, 7:16.34-7:29.2, on March 29. The next day, Cal's V8 defeated then-No. 14 Notre Dame, 6:45.84-7:05.78.

Cal's second varsity eight compiled a 1-2 record at the Pac-10 Challenge, dropping races to Virginia, 7:04.81-7:07.73, and Ohio State, 7:25.24-7:31.93, on March 29 and beating Notre Dame, 6:40.82-6:45.89, on March 30. The Bears' varsity four was 3-0 in the season-opening regatta, defeating Virginia, 8:02.26-8:08.41, and Ohio State, 8:35.4-9:00.2, on March 29 and beating Notre Dame by more than 20 seconds, 7:39.1-7:59.9, on March 30.

O'Neill, Nevin Named CRCA West Region Coaches of the Year
Cal head coach Dave O'Neill was named the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association West Region Coach of the Year and Golden Bears assistant coach Sara Nevin was named the CRCA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year, the rowing organization announced on May 21. This is O'Neill's fourth CRCA regional award (1999, 2004, 2005). He was also named the national CRCA Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2005. This is Nevin's second regional assistant coaching honor (2004).

2007 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships - May 25-27 on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Cal, which fell short of winning a third consecutive national title, took seventh place overall at the NCAA Championships on May 27, 2007. Yale won the varsity eight title, while Brown won the team championship. In the varsity eight third final, Cal had a great race. The Bears led wire-to-wire to win the race, securing 13th place in the regatta. UCLA, Washington and Central Florida trailed the Bears by four, five and 16 seconds respectively.

Second-place Cal (6:59.71) fell to Minnesota (6:56.39), and Brown was third (6:59.71), in the second varsity eight grand final. In the varsity four grand final, Virginia ran away with the championship (7:35.03). Cal finished third (7:47.87) behind second-place Brown (7:45.54).