Columbia
Eastern Sprints (EARWC)
Second Varsity Finishes Fourth to Lead Women in Eastern Sprints; Three Others Reach Petite Finals
5/16/2010 10:00:00 PM | Women's Rowing
CAMDEN COUNTY, N.J. — On a day filled with high expectations, the Columbia women's second varsity eight finished fourth in the Eastern Sprints, equalling its seed with possibly the highest finish ever for a Columbia varsity eight in the women's Sprints.
Although the first varsity eight was unable to fulfill its fifth-seed, it reached the Petite Final, as did Columbia's third varsity eight and its varsity four.
The second-varsity rowers wasted little time in going "for the throat" in their heat. Knowing that only the top two finishers would advance to the Grand Final, the Lions "took their shot" at Yale, as head coach Melanie Onufrieff said. The "shot" was right on target; Columbia rocketed into the lead and held it, fencing off the Bulldogs until just 30-40 meters remained of the 2000-meter Cooper River course.
That Yale finished first in the heat, in 6:46.995, in no way diminished Columbia's race. The Lions were half a second behind in 6:47.965, comfortably ahead of Dartmouth, 6:55.965, George Washington, 7:12.155, Syracuse and Georgetown.
The Grand Final wasn't Columbia's strongest race; nevertheless, the Lions camped right behind the three leaders, in contention for a medal most of the race. They narrowly missed the bronze, finishing in 6:47.788, 3.2 seconds behind Yale's 6:44.518, as Princeton and Brown went 1-2. Columbia did beat Cornell and Radcliffe.
The attention of most Columbia observers had been directed toward the varsity eight after a sterling two weeks that saw the crew defeat Cornell, by .8 seconds, in Ithaca in the Dunn Bowl, and outpace Boston's best to win the Beanpot Regatta and Woodbury Cup when it downed Northeastern, Radcliffe, Boston U., and Boston C., all in the same race on the Charles.
Unfortunately, the eight could not come through at the Sprints. Its strongest competitors for the two qualifying spots, Yale and Penn, took the early lead, as the Lions faltered, eventually falling behind the entire field. They fought back to finish third, ahead of Rutgers, Bucknell and George Washington, but well behind Yale (15 seconds) and Penn (10 seconds).
"The biggest disappointment," Onufrieff noted, "was not that they didn't qualify for the Grand Final, but that they didn't row the way they row."
Her crew rowed better in the afternoon Petite Final, threatening the two leaders, Radcliffe and Northeastern, ironically Columbia's two major "victims" in the Beanpot, before settling for third behind them, ninth overall.
Despite the disappointing finish, the coach marveled at her varsity eight. "They did things in terms of speed that were at the highest levels in rowing," she said. "They started to do things this season we never expected. They exceeded our expectations."
Columbia's other two boats performed reasonably well. The varsity four rowed well in its heat before settling for fourth, behind Brown, Cornell and Northeastern, then was sixth in the Petite Final. The third varsity eight, made up largely of first-years, was third in its heat, threatening Cornell and Princeton while beating Syracuse and Rutgers. It then took third in the Petite Final, yielding second to Radcliffe after a battle that lasted the entire race.
Looking back on the season, as the Sprints marked Columbia's final event of the spring, Onufrieff had to marvel.
"They did some special stuff this season," she said. "Again, they exceeded our expectations. They're farther along than we thought they'd be.
The results:
Eastern Sprints (EAWRC)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Cooper River, Camden County, N.J.
Varsity Eights - Petite Final
1. Radcliffe, 6:43.353
2. Northeastern, 6:46.924
3. COLUMBIA, 6:50.828
4. Syracuse, 6:55.432
5. Boston U., 6:59.773
6. Rutgers, 7:01.818
(3rd of 6 in heat)
Second Varsity Eights - Grand Final
1. Princeton, 6:35.998
2. Brown, 6:40.798
3. Yale, 6:44.518
4. COLUMBIA, 6:47.788
5. Cornell, 6:48.701
6. Radcliffe, 6:53.533
(2nd of 6 in heat)
The Second Varsity Eight:
Stephanie Ngai, cox; Rebecca Randall, stroke; Fiona Duffy, 7; Ann Hammersberg, 6; McKenzie Largay, 5; Kasey Koopmans, 4; Lily Keane, 3; Alexandra Murata, 2; Anne Comfort-Cole, bow)
Third Varsity Eights - Petite Final
1. Penn, 7:08.139
2. Radcliffe, 7:12.310
3. COLUMBIA, 7:14.397
4. Dartmouth, 7:22.873
5. Boston U., 7:27.384
6. Syracuse, 7:37.266
(3rd of 5 in heat)
Varsity Fours - Petite Final
1. Navy, 7:35.969
2. Northeastern, 7:40,703
3. Bucknell, 7:43.230
4. Penn, 7:44.199
5. Dartmouth, 747.339
6. COLUMBIA, 8:11.287
(5th of 6 in heat)
Players Mentioned
