Women's rowing modest expectations

As the end of spring and the beginning of summer draw near, so does the end of the Oregon State women's rowing team's regular season. To kick off the postseason, the team will travel to Gold River, Calif. this weekend for the Pac-10 conference championships.


There will be four races at the championships: the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, Novice 8 and Varsity 4. Each race will contribute to the team's score and the score for each race carries a different weight. The Varsity 8 race is worth the most in team points, according to Oregon State head coach Emily Ford.


There will be one automatic bid for the NCAA championships and the potential for at-large bids, which will be announced next Tuesday. Four out of the seven teams competing are ranked in the top 10 nationally, which may increase the number of at-large bids selected from the Pac-10 conference.

Oregon State is the seventh seed in the Varsity 4, Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 8 races, while the Novice 8 crew is seeded fifth.


"I am expecting us to show up, be prepared and have our best race," Ford said.

University of California, Berkeley is the No. 1 team in the country, the reigning conference champions and the heavy favorite going into this weekend. The Golden Bears gained the top seed in both the Varsity 4 and the Novice 8 races as well as the second seed in the Second Varsity 8 and Varsity 8 races.


In the last meeting between Oregon State and UC Berkeley, the Golden Bears won the Varsity 8 race by 27 seconds.


Third-ranked Stanford University holds the top spot in the Second Varsity 8 race, while No. 4 University of Southern California also picked up a number one seed in the Varsity 8 race. The fourth Pac-10 team ranked in the top-10, University of Washington, comes in at No. 7.

Oregon State last faced Stanford and UW in the Varsity 8 event at the San Diego Crew Classic at the beginning of April. The Beavers finished behind both teams in preliminary heats.

"It is going to be a high-pressure environment," Ford said. "So, we are trying to keep the focus internal and focus on having our best performance."


Anna Willard, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com