Varsity 8 Advances to A/B Semifinal at NCAA Championships

Friday, May 26

Pennsauken, N.J.

8 AM

Syracuse University

NCAA Championship - Heats

Varsity 8 at NCAA Championship (heat 2 race)

Varsity 8 Advances to A/B Semifinal at NCAA Championships

5/26/2023 3:47:00 PM | Women's Rowing

The seventh-seeded Syracuse varsity eight earned a spot in the A/B semifinal with a third-place finish in its heat at the 2023 NCAA Championship at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J. It is the second time in three years that the Orange V8 will race in the NCAA A/B semifinal. The 2021 Syracuse varsity eight placed 12th at the NCAA Championship after advancing to the A/B semifinal through the repechage. The Orange second varsity eight and varsity four advanced to the C/D semifinals after placing fourth in their respective heats. NCAA Championship racing continues on Saturday morning. The Orange varsity eight will be the first down the course for Syracuse at 8:36 am.

"We have been talking a lot about building momentum through the regatta, having each race be better than the last, especially for this type of multi-day race," said head coach Luke McGee. "It is certainly an emotional race with it being NCAAs and the end of the season. The varsity eight is a boat that has always risen to the challenge and tomorrow will be the biggest challenge they have had all season. I am excited to see Syracuse racing at that level. We have been fighting for years to get to that level. When you look at the 12 boats that are in the A/B semi, that's no joke. It is really deep – as deep as it has ever been. For the 2V and the 4V, even if you are not in the A/B semi, you are still out there racing and the goal is always the same, which is to win that race. The 2V and the 4V are capable of doing that. I am confident that they will do that."

Senior Hannah Murphy coxswained the Orange varsity eight that included stroke Annika Maxson, Emmie Frederico, Izabela Krakic, Kamile Kralikaite, Ellie-Kate Hutchinson, India Aikens, Martyna Kazlauskaite and bow Alena Criss. Third-seed Texas won the heat and 10th-seed Michigan was second. Syracuse will race in the semifinals on Saturday at 8:36 am. The Orange (lane 6) will compete against Penn, Texas, Princeton, Call and SMU.

"I thought today was an opening-stage race for the varsity eight – not their best work, but it is something that they can certainly build off of," McGee said. "They are going to have a tough semifinal tomorrow but they have always been a boat that has risen to the occasion. Some good building blocks there and some elements we will work on cleaning up for tomorrow."

The Orange second varsity eight will race in the C/D semifinals after its fourth-place result in the heat. Third-seeded Texas won the heat followed by 6th-seed Penn, 11th-seed Virginia and then 14th-seed Syracuse. The lineup included coxswain Louise Rath, stroke Junior Ognovich, Madison D'Ambra, Zoe Acosta, Lena Radke, Olivia Schaertl, Haley Uliasz, Heather Stafford and bow Aphrodite Gioulekas. The 2V8 semifinal on Saturday includes Rutgers, Southern Cal, Gonzaga and Jacksonville. The Orange will be in lane three when the race starts at 9:12 am.

"The 2V had a more complete race than they had at ACCs, just unfortunately kind of a step off the competition. You get to NCAAs and everything is really ratcheted up a notch even from conference championships, so we saw that there which is upsetting not to be in the A/B semi, but again it is a regatta that you have to keep coming back. They are capable of an even better performance tomorrow. We definitely need them to score points and win races for us. They have that inside of them."

The 13th-seeded Orange varsity four advanced to the C/D semifinal with a fourth-place finish in the heat. Coxswain Caileigh Grimes, stroke Elizabeth Vogt, Kaitlin Dennis, Alice McNeill and bow Mae Sweeney finished the race in 7:38.830), behind 4th-seed Stanford (7:32.940), 5th-seed Princeton (7:34.460) and 12th-seed Ohio State (7:36.340). The varsity four will race in lane three for its semifinal against Penn, Indiana, Navy and Jacksonville.

"The four rowed a really gutsy race," McGee said. "They got themselves in a position to be in the A/B semi. We knew it was going to be really tough with Ohio State. Unfortunately, we came out on the short side of that one. It was a good racing experience for them. Moving forward, they were the fastest non-qualifier for the A/B semi, which is challenging but a little bit of a product of their seeding, which is the seed that they earned. They are a boat that can have realistic goals of winning the next two races that they are in."

NCAA Championship Heats Results
Varsity Eight – Heat 2
1. Texas (6:28.340)
2. Michigan (6:32.520)
3. Syracuse (6:37.260)
4. Duke (6:43.130)
5. Northeastern (6:49.790)

Second Varsity Eight – Heat 3
1. Texas (6:40.964)
2. Penn (6:44.428)
3. Virginia (6:45.574)
4. Syracuse (7:03.182)
5. George Washington (7:21.244)
6. Jacksonville (7:31.150)

Varsity Four – Heat 4
1. Stanford (7:32.940)
2. Princeton (7:34.460
3. Ohio State (7:36.340)
4. Syracuse (7:38.830)
5. Northeastern (8:20.400)
6. Jacksonville (8:24.400)

NCAA Championship Semifinals Schedule
May 27, 2023
8:36 am – Varsity 8
Semifinal 1 (A/B)
Lane 1 – SMU
Lane 2 – Princeton
Lane 3 – Penn
Lane 4 -- Texas
Lane 5 – Cal
Lane 6 – Syracuse

9:12 am – Second Varsity 8
Semifinal 4 (C/D)
Lane 1 – Jacksonville
Lane 2 – Southern California
Lane 3 – Syracuse
Lane 4 – Rutgers
Lane 5 -- Gonzaga

9:48 am – Varsity 4
Semifinal 3 (C/D)
Lane 1 – Jacksonville
Lane 2 – Indiana
Lane 3 – Syracuse
Lane 4 – Penn
Lane 5 -- Navy

V8
C Hannah Murphy
S Annika Maxson
7 Emmie Frederico
6 Izabela Krakic
5 Kamile Kralikaite
4 Ellie-Kate Hutchinson
3 India Aikens
2 Martyna Kazlauskaite
Bow Alena Criss

2V8
Coxswain Louise Rath
Stroke Junior Ognovich
7 Madison D'Ambra
6 Zoe Acosta
5 Lena Radke
4 Olivia Schaertl
3 Haley Uliasz
2 Heather Stafford
Bow Aphrodite Gioulekas

V4
Coxswain Caileigh Grimes
Stroke Elizabeth Vogt
3 Kaitlyn Dennis
2 Alice McNeill
Bow Mae Sweeney

Alternates
Lea Dahn
April Serrano
Lauren Coop

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