OAK RIDGE, Tenn.   The Kansas State women’s rowing team saw three of its four crews advance to the finals of the Southern IRA’s Saturday at Melton Hill Lake.

With its top varsity crew comprised of coxswain Stephanie Black, Linzi Hauldren, Kaci Williams, Morgan Steele, Larissa Kesler, Danielle Scott, Grace Riekenberg, Amy Wagner and Megan Hauver, K-State placed second in the semifinals of the Women’s Varsity Eight race with a time of 7:30.83. The Wildcats move on to tomorrow’s A final where they will compete against the likes of top crews from Louisville, North Carolina, Central Florida, SMU and Purdue at 11 a.m.

Up against a 20-team field, coxswain Kendra Jones, Maureen McKiernan, Erin Martin, Amy Noonen and Abby Miller, led the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the semifinals of the Women’s Novice Four race to advance to tomorrow’s A final. There, K-State will take on squads from Northwestern State, Washington University, Tampa, Georgia and Tulsa.

In the Women’s Novice Eight competition, the Wildcats placed fifth in the semifinals behind Michigan State, Central Florida, Purdue and North Carolina with a time of 7:22.57. They will compete at 9:12 a.m. tomorrow in the B final of the event against crews from SMU, Louisville, UNC, Dayton and Murray State.

“It was nice to be on good (flat) water,” Head Coach Patrick Sweeney said. “We had a good day overall and performed well. The Varsity Eight crew cruised through their race, rowed with a lot of control and looked good while doing it. They were not having to fight the water and were able to race. The Novice Four did not row well in their early heat, but did a much better job in the semifinals to get to tomorrow’s A final.”

With only seven entries in the Women’s JV Eight race, K-State will compete tomorrow in a straight final at 9:40 a.m.

Complete race results from the Southern IRA’s can be accessed at: www.orra.org and www.k-statesports.com.

SOUTHERN IRA’S
April 16-17, 2005
Melton Hill Lake
at Oak Ridge, Tenn.

WOMEN’S VARSITY EIGHT
Semifinals
1, Central Florida, 7:21.70, 2, Kansas State, 7:30.83, 3, SMU, 7:32.50, 4, Tulsa, 7:46.19.

WOMEN’S NOVICE EIGHT
Semifinals
1, Michigan State, 7:09.80, 2, Central Florida, 7:10.22, 3, Purdue, 7:16.59, 4, North Carolina, 7:19.07, 5, Kansas State, 7:22.57, 6, SMU, 7:23.40.

WOMEN’S NOVICE FOUR
Heats
1, Washington University, 7:51.40, 2, Tampa, 8:09.94, 3, Kansas State, 8:19.89, 4, Auburn, 8:33.34, 5, Florida, 9:51.74.

Semifinals
1, Washington University, 7:39.90, 2, Georgia, 8:07.11, 3, Kansas State, 8:08.47, 4, Tennessee Club, 8:10.01, 5, Michigan State, 8:43.69, 6, Emory, 9:07.99.