May 28, 2004

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - After day one of competition, Cal is in good shape heading into the semifinals and repechages tomorrow morning.

The varsity eight had a strong opening race, finishing second in its heat behind Michigan. The top three boats from every heat move on to the semifinals, which start tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. The other boats advancing to the semifinals include Ohio State, Washington, Notre Dame, Michigan, Virginia, Brown, Yale and Princeton.

In the second varsity eight heats, the Golden Bears finished second to Washington to advance to the repechage. Only the top boat in each heat advances on to the Grand final, while the remaining boats move on to the repechage tomorrow morning beginning at 10 a.m.

Cal's varsity four finished third in its heat behind Virginia and Yale. Only the top finisher from each heat advances to the Grand Final, while the remaining boats advance to the repechage.

"Today was a good day," said Cal head coach Dave O'Neill. "However, we need to elevate our performance in order to reach our goals. We knew that the competition was going to be at a high level at the NCAAs, and clearly that was the case today."

Friday's Heat Results

Varsity Eight Heat 2
1. Michigan          6:45.80
2. California        6:49.50
3. Virginia          6:54.80
4. Wisconsin         6:59.70
5. Texas             7:04.80

Second Varsity Eight Heat 2
1. Washington        6:46.16
2. California        6:48.14
3. Washington State  6:50.78
4. Yale              6:53.90
5. Princeton         6:56.00
6. Harvard           6:57.30

Varsity Four Heat 1
1. Virginia          7:28.67
2. Yale              7:35.50
3. California        7:37.57
4. Princeton         7:41.09
5. Washington State  7:43.17
6. Michigan State    7:50.86