OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (April 24) – Central Oklahoma competed in Southern Intercollegiate Regatta Association's (SIRA) annual race here last weekend, with the No. 5-ranked Bronchos going up against a tough field as this year's event combined the Division I races with the Division II/III/Club events.
Included in the event were several highly-ranked Division II teams, including No. 2 Mercyhurst, No. 4 Nova Southeastern, No. 6 Barry and No. 7 UC-San Diego.
PRELIMINARY COMPETITION
UCO was seeded 14th in a field of 29 boats in the Varsity 8+ race. The Bronchos rowed strongly, upsetting the seventh-seeded Grand Valley State “B”, and finished just behind the heat winner and No. 4 seed Purdue.
The Varsity 4+ was an unseeded event and the heats were randomly drawn. The Bronchos used a quick start to establish an early lead over Division II rival Mercyhurst and held on for the entire race to advance to the semifinals.
SEMIFINALS
UCO's Varsity 8+ drew an exceptionally tough semi and needed to finish ahead of either No. 1 seed Grand Valley or No. 3 seed Kansas State advance to the grand finals. The Bronchos fought hard and separated from the rest of the field early, but were never able to reel in the higher seeded teams and qualified for the petite final instead. The Bronchos finished third with a 6:54.61 time, just four seconds behind runner-up Kansas State.
The same format of advancement was used in the Varsity 4+ and once again UCO drew a tough semifinal. UCO got out to a quick start and stayed with George Washington University and Kansas State until the 500-meter mark when the two crews were able to pull away. The Bronchos finished a strong third in advancing forward to the petite final with a 7:50.29.
MAKING A STATEMENT
The Varsity 4+ took the lead and never looked back in the petite final. UCO won the race with a time of 7:46.60, 10 seconds ahead of the second-place boat and faster than several crews in the Grand Final.
The Varsity 8+ overcame a shaky start to take the lead at the 500-meter mark and went on to win the petite final. The Bronchos finished with a 6:49.80, beating a pair of Division II teams (Barry and Florida Institute of Technology) they lost to earlier in the season. UCO's time was the second-fastest Division II time of the regatta behind only No. 4 Nova Southeastern, but faster than No. 2 Mercyhurst. Both teams made the Grand Final.
COACH ANDREW DERRICK SAID
“I am extremely proud of how the team performed under pressure this weekend. They executed the race plan well and never let up. We were obviously very disappointed with the tough draw for the semifinals, but the team went after it and nearly made the Grands. After that, they did a truly fantastic job of rebounding and taking care of business the next day in the petite final despite being disappointed by Saturday afternoon's results. They showed a lot more toughness than we have seen to date and it is a huge step in the right direction.”
UP NEXT
The Bronchos will compete in the annual Stroklahoma this weekend against cross-town rival Oklahoma City University (OCU). Wichita State University will also be competing in the tri-meet on the Oklahoma River. Races begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday following the Big XII Championships that take place that morning.
