Tech Crew Places 4th, Barry Eight 3rd in DII Rowing Finals

In Sunday's final day of action at the NCAA Division II Rowing Championship, the Florida Tech crew placed fourth in the final team standings, while the Barry Eight finished third in the Varsity 8 Grand Final.  The event was hosted at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif.  A recap of daily action appears below.

The Panthers were one of four teams to receive a team bid to compete in the event.  Schools selected to compete as teams must field one Varsity 8 boat and one Varsity 4 boat.  In addition to Tech, Philadelphia, Seattle Pacific, and Western Washington will compete for the team title.

In addition to the four team participants, two at-large Varsity 8 boats are selected.  Barry received one of those two invitations, along with Mercyhurst.

Western Washington enters the championship having won the last five DII national titles.

NCAA Release

DAY ONE RECAP (MAY 28):  In Friday's opening races at the NCAA DII Rowing Championship, the Barry Varsity 8 finished second in its heat, while the Florida Tech Varsity 8 placed third.  In the Varsity 4 event, the Panthers logged a second-place finish.

In the first Varsity 8 heat, Florida Tech remained close to both Mercyhurst and Seattle Pacific in the beginning until Mercyhurst began to pull away.   From that point, the Lakers did not look back, finishing the heat in first place at 6:49.66.  Seattle Pacific came in second, just over four seconds later, and the Panthers placed third at 7:09.19.

The Mercyhurst win puts the crew in Sunday's grand final.  Florida Tech and Seattle Pacific will row in Saturday's repechage race.

The Bucs raced in the second heat of the day against Western Washington University and Philadelphia University. The Bucs finished second in a time of 6:54.84, almost 11 seconds behind winner Western Washington (6:44.81). The Bucs led after the first 500 meters with a 1:39.63 split, however Western Washington rowed the final 1500 meters nearly 12 seconds quicker than the Bucs. Philadelphia took third in a time of 7:01.98.
 
With the win, Western Washington automatically qualifies for the grand final on Sunday afternoon. Barry and Philadelphia will earn a second shot at qualifying for the grand final when they compete in the repechage race tomorrow.
 
The Division II Eights repechage race will take place at 10:30 a.m. PST (1:30 pm EST).  The top team from the repechage race will join Western Washington and Mercyhurst in the grand final.

In Varsity 4 action, Florida Tech met Western Washington in heat two, and the Lakers once again showed why they are defending champions.  The Panthers gave Western Washington a strong effort, but the foe prevailed, crossing the finish line at 7:38.98.  Tech stopped the clock at 8:08.46.

The Panthers will meet Seattle Pacific in the varsity four repechage Saturday at 10:45 a.m. PT/1:45 p.m. ET.

Fans can watch live video of the races on the NCAA site.  Live stats are also available.

DAY TWO RECAP (MAY 29):  Barry's Varsity 8 and Florida Tech's Varsity 4 enjoyed a successful second day at the DII Rowing Championship on Saturday, earning slots in their respective Grand Finals. 

Florida Tech, Barry, Philadelphia and Seattle Pacific squared off in the first of two Division II repechages.  Barry powered to an early lead followed by Seattle Pacific.  Philadelphia would overtake the Falcons with 1,000 meters to go.  Tech and Seattle Pacific appeared to be rowing at similar rates at that point, however, Seattle Pacific quickly made a strong push.  As the boats entered the stretch, Seattle Pacific passed both Barry and Philadelphia to finish first at 6:54.63.  Barry and Philadelphia hung on for second and third place, respectively.  Tech came in fourth at 7:09.74.  

Seattle Pacific and Barry will move on to the Grand Final to face Mercyhurst and Western Washington, who earned spots there in Friday's heats.  The Grand Final is set for 12:30 p.m. PST (3:30 EST).  Tech will row against Philadelphia in the Petite Final at 9:15 a.m PST (12:15 EST) on Sunday.

In the Varsity 4 repechage, Florida Tech appeared to have the stronger boat from the outset.  Within the first 500 meters, the Panthers held a good lead over Seattle Pacific.  Despite the separation they built, the Panthers continued to sprint to the line, leaving the Falcons several boat lengths behind.

Tech crossed the finish line at 7:56.39, and the Falcons stopped the clock nearly 15 seconds after the first-place boat.  In an impressive fashion, the Panthers sliced a whopping 12 seconds off the time they earned in their heat against Western Washington on Friday. 

Sunday’s Varsity Four Grand Final, slated for 9 a.m. PST (12 EDT), will pit Tech against Philadelphia and Western Washington to determine the NCAA Division II fours champion.

Fans can once again follow the finals via live stats and live video.

FINAL DAY RECAP (MAY 30):  Florida Tech concluded the NCAA Division II Championships on Sunday in fourth place with nine points, six of which were earned by the varsity four and three were recorded by the varsity eight.  Western Washington (20 points) took home the NCAA Division II Team Championship for the sixth consecutive year, Seattle Pacific (11 points) finished second and Philadelphia (10 points) placed third.

In the opening event, the Varsity Four Grand Final, Tech was up against Western Washington and Philadelphia.  From the start, Western Washington jumped ahead of its two opponents.  Philadelphia worked itself away from the Panthers at the 500-meter mark, however, Tech would roll past Philadelphia and never look back.  Western Washington hung on to win the Division II Fours Championship, stopping the clock at 7:25.35.  One day after improving by 12 seconds from Friday’s heat time, the Panthers shaved nearly 13 seconds off Saturday’s repechage time to finish at 7:43.84.  Philadelphia rounded out the field at 7:56.92.

Immediately following the varsity four final, the Varsity 8 Petite Final occurred, and it featured Tech against Philadelphia.  The Rams had a small advantage over the Panthers within the first 500 meters.  Philadelphia would extend its lead further, but the Panthers gave a strong effort and finished second in the race at a time of 7:02.52 and sixth overall in the varsity eight.  Philadelphia won the Petite Final with a time of 6:55.06.

In the Varsity 8 Grand Final, Barry took a third place finish with a time of 6:51.76.

The Buccaneer Eight boat competed for a national championship against Mercyhurst, Western Washington, and Seattle Pacific. At the end of the first 500 meters, Barry trailed the lead by a mere 00:00.52 seconds. Ahead of the Bucs was Western Washington and Mercyhurst in the lead.

At the 1000 meter mark, Barry remained in third but fell back to the lead by just over 00:03 seconds with Mercyhurst in first and Western Washington in second. With 500 meters to go, the Buccaneers still held third place.

At the finish was Mercyhurst in first with a blazing time of 6:42.53, Western Washington in second at 6:44.92, Barry in third, and Seattle Pacific in fourth with a time of 6:53.04.