Bronchos Earn Silver In California

4/3/2012 8:35:00 AM

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (April 1) – Central Oklahoma's varsity 8+ team competed in the prestigious San Diego Crew Classic over the weekend in the first major competition of the spring racing season.

This year's regatta was made up of 142 different teams with 413 entries and over 4,000 student-athletes competing. The recent increase of in Division II teams over the past few years prompted the organizing committee to add an event for Division II and III teams. The field has been populated by highly-ranked Division II rivals Western Washington, Humboldt State and UC-San Diego and others.

PRELIMINARY ACTION: UCO faced top-seeded Western Washington, No. 7-ranked UC-San Diego, Mills College, UCSD's “B” team and Chapman University in its head. The Bronchos earned a spot in the Grand Final with an upset win, getting off to a solid start and then pulling away from the field near the end of the first 500-meter mark in finishing with a time of 7:14.69.

“The team was ecstatic with their performance, and rightfully so, but we had to keep it in check to be ready for Sunday's Grand Final,” head coach Andrew Derrick said.

GRAND FINAL: The Grand Final was set to be a showdown. While UCO won their heat they were the third-fastest time overall and would be facing No. 3-ranked Humboldt State, No. 7 UC-San Diego, UC-Santa Barbra, Western Washington and Orange Coast College.

The field shot out of the gates with only a couple of seats separating the field for the first several hundred meters. As the crews settled into the race it became clear it was a three-way race for the top spot between Humboldt State, UCSB and UCO.

The Bronchos and Humboldt exchanged the lead constantly for the first 1000 meters, with UCSB just behind. Shortly after the halfway mark, Humboldt mounted a successful move and gained a narrow lead that held up to the finish. The Bronchos held off a late charge from UCSB, but couldn't catch Humboldt and finished two seconds behind them and one second ahead of UCSB.

“I was very proud of our team for both capturing second and for putting together two very well rowed, tough races over the weekend,” Derrick said. “This is a nice step in the right direction after a disappointing performance the week before in Florida.”

HISTORICA L RESULTS AT THE SDCC: As the regatta has grown, so has UCO's success. Two years ago, the Bronchos took sixth in their heat, and failed to advance. Last year, UCO's varsity 8+ took third in their heat to advance to the Division II/III/Club final. And then this season, the Bronchos won their heat and finished runner-up in the Grand Final.

HEAT
Central Oklahoma: 7:14.69
California-San Diego “A”: 7:25.49
Western Washington “B”: 7:27.40
Mills: 7:27.42
California-Santa Barbara “C”: 7:49.35
California-San Diego “B”: 7:51.31
Chapman: 8:13.23

FINAL
Humboldt State: 7:22.18
Central Oklahoma: 7:24.19
UC-Santa Barbara “A”: 7:25.07
UC-San Diego “A”: 7:45.32
OCC: 7:47.81
Western Washington “B”: 7:49.59

THE LINEUP: UCO's crew consisted of coxswain Alexandra Capitol, and rowers (from stroke to bow) Rachel Kliewer, Jessica Lawson, Sam Elliot, Kristin Philhower, Michaela Rabenhorst, Jenna Goodner, Kelsey Philhower and Jennifer Hagen

YOUNG TALENT: Three of the UCO's eight rowers last weekend are walk-on freshmen -- Alexandra Capitol, Jennifer Hagen and Sam Elliott. The varsity 8+ only has two seniors, giving promise of continuing improvement next year.

MOVING FORWARD: The Bronchos will be back in action in two weeks, going to the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta April 20 -22 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

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