Rowing Earns Fifth Place Finishes at San Diego Crew Classic
4/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Alabama rowing team's first varsity 8+ boat rebounded from an off-day at the San Diego Crew Classic to close strong on Sunday, taking fifth place in the Women's Collegiate Varsity Invitational Petite Final on Mission Bay.
"We had a much better day today in our first varsity 8+," UA head coach Larry Davis said. "In fact, we pretty much had a complete 180 from where we were on Saturday. We went out and executed much closer to our potential and did a much better job of following through on our race plan."
The Tide was five seconds ahead of sixth-place Purdue, and less than seven seconds behind Tennessee.
"That is as close as we've ever been to Tennessee's first varsity 8+," Davis said. "So we're making progress and you can see that when we perform to our capabilities as we did today. I think the closest we've been to Tennessee prior to this was about 10 seconds."
Alabama produced its best race of the weekend on a day when conditions were not ideal, with high winds and outgoing tide's making the going tough. Alabama was also rowing against top of the line competition, something Davis feels will hold UA in good stead this spring.
"We were rowing against teams that have been in the final six at the NCAA Championships," Davis said. "For us to take that next step forward, we need to be able to face competition of that level and keep our cool, which I feel like we did at points this weekend. The way our 1V8 raced today and some of our other crews moved yesterday will help us throughout the rest of the spring."
Alabama remains on the road for its next outing, traveling to Rhode Island where it will face Rhode Island, Boston University and Central Florida on April 14 before returning home April 21 to take on Iowa.
