Varsity 4+ Advances to Grand Finals at NCAA Rowing Championships

May 30, 2009

Cherry Hill, NJ – On the second day of the NCAA Rowing Championships, Clemson’s Varsity 4+ won its heat and will compete in the grand finals for the national championship tomorrow morning. The Varsity 8+ and Second Varsity 8+ advanced to the petite finals of the regatta after finishing sixth in their respective semifinals.

The Varsity 4+ looked strong from the start and led almost the entire race to finish with a time of 7:16.17. Yale finished a close second with a time of 7:17.50, while Virginia crossed the finish line third in 7:18.28. Clemson’s time was less than a second behind Wisconsin, who was the winner of the other semifinal. The Tigers will compete in the grand final tomorrow morning at 10:15, marking the first time Clemson has competed in the grand finals in the history of the program.

The Second Varsity 8+ finished sixth in its semifinal with a time of 6:50.09. Stanford won the heat, followed by Washington and California. Clemson will compete in the petite finals at 10:45 AM on Sunday.

The Varsity 8+ got off to a rough start when a rower was ejected from the boat in the first 100 meters. The race was stopped and re-started shortly after, but Clemson was unable to regain its composure and finished sixth with a time of 6:35.03. The crew will compete in the petite finals tomorrow morning at 11:30 AM.

Go to http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=128583 for live video feed of the races tomorrow.