Weather Plays Havoc On Racing At NCAA Rowing Championship
6/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The day was supposed to have seen the Gonzaga University women's rowing team race three times but weather once again played havoc on the NCAA Rowing Championship.
Rain and wind made rowing conditions tough for all crews Saturday and by the time NCAA officials postponed racing, the Bulldogs had made it down the 2,000-meter course at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind., twice but only one result became official.
The Varsity 8+ finished fifth in their C/D Semifinal and the Second Varsity 8+ looked to have placed second in its C/D Semifinal, but the race was ruled unofficial and will now be re-raced Sunday.
It was the Second Varsity 8+ race that ended up forcing the final three races of the morning to be called off and rescheduled for Sunday morning. The water, which was white capping and extremely choppy, ended up causing the University of Oklahoma to sink - and had to have a rescue launch come get the student-athletes. The University of Wisconsin also caught a crab and eventually had a tough time staying afloat.
Gonzaga, Cornell and Marist each were able to finish the race, with the Bulldogs placing second behind Cornell. Unfortunately it was decided the race was deemed unsafe for the student-athletes and the entire race will be re-run Sunday.
"We were really proud of how our boat performed," stated Zag head coach Glenn Putyrae after the exhausting morning. "Of course we are disappointed that the race was called unofficial, but the decision is definitely the fairest for all the crews involved; we can't dispute that. We are now looking at tomorrow's race as another opportunity that we have worked really hard to have. We are going to make the best of that opportunity."
The Bulldogs semifinal re-race is now set for 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT). They will then either race in the D Final at 10:20 a.m. ET (7:20 a.m. PT) or C Final at 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT).
In Gonzaga's lone race of the morning - the Varsity 8+ C/D Semifinal - it too had to handle choppy water the best it could. The Bulldogs didn't fare so well and closed out the course with a time of 7:53.225. Notre Dame, Cornell and Boston University captured the top three spots with times of 7:37.292, 7:43.743 and 7:47.418, respectively.
"I hate to say that the story of the regatta for us at this point is how we handled the conditions but that is the story," explained Putyrae. "One of the things I told the crew afterwards is that everybody had to row in the same conditions and they handled the conditions better than we did."
GU will now race in the D Semifinal Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT).
The Varsity 4+ was also set to take part in a semifinal Saturday but with the postponement did not get to race. The Bulldogs rescheduled semifinal is Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET (5:10 a.m. PT), with C Finals set for 10:50 a.m. ET (7:50 a.m. PT) and D Finals set for 10:40 a.m. ET (7:40 a.m. PT).
