OAK RIDGE, Tenn. Competing in one of the nation’s toughest regional championships, the Kansas State women’s rowing team placed two of its boats in the Petite Final and two in the C Final at the 2006 Aramark NCAA Central/South Region Sprints held Saturday on Melton Hill Lake.

In its early morning heat, Kansas State’s First Varsity Eight took fourth (7:04.7) and finished just a few boat lengths behind host Tennessee (6:46.3), No. 6 Michigan (6:46.7) and Duke (6:59.6). Overall, the Wildcats competed against a total of 11 top 20 nationally-ranked crews, including six (No. 4 Ohio State, Michigan, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 20 Wisconsin) hailing from the Central Region in the latest USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll. The 1V8 will move on to tomorrow’s C Final against Texas, Kansas, Indiana, Miami (Fla.) and Clemson at 10 a.m.

“They (rowers) raced well and competed really hard against tough competition,” Kansas State head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “They (First Varsity Eight) were just a few seconds off of the pace, but you have to expect that with the top level of competition here. Traditionally, there are more crews from this combined Central and South Region Championship that move on to the NCAA Championships out of any other region in the country.”

The Second Varsity Eight, First Novice Eight and First Varsity Four crews also placed fourth in their morning heats. The 2V8 (7:30.77) later beat out North Carolina (7:37.60) and Clemson (8:11.30) in the C/D Semifinal to move on to tomorrow’s C Final against UNC, Cincinnati, Miami (Fla.), Iowa and KU at 9:50 a.m.

Meanwhile, the First Novice Eight and First Varsity Four both advanced to tomorrow’s Petite Final at 10:30 and 10:50 a.m. respectively. The 1N8 will take on crews from Iowa, Central Florida, Notre Dame, KU and North Carolina, while the V4 will face Louisville, Central Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

“We are seeing that the team is now being more competitive,” Sweeney said. “Of course, we would always like to see better results, but we are really fighting with the top teams. This has definitely been one of the better championships in the last couple of years for us. If the team continues to improve, as they have shown this season, we will be right with those top 20 teams in the future. We want the same out of them tomorrow with everyone continuing to do well.”

Complete race results for the NCAA Central/South Region Sprints can be accessed at: www.utladyvols.com or www.row2K.com.

NCAA CENTRAL/SOUTH REGION SPRINTS

May 13-14, 2006

Melton Hill Lake

at Oak Ridge, Tenn.

HEATS

FIRST VARSITY EIGHT 1, Tennessee, 6:46.3, 2, Michigan, 6:46.7, 3, Duke, 6:59.6, 4, Kansas State, 7:04.7, 5, Clemson, 7:10.2.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT 1, Michigan, 7:02.7, 2, Minnesota, 7:10.0, 3, Central Florida, 7:19.3, 4, Kansas State, 7:23.4, 5, Cincinnati, 7:32.2.

FIRST VARSITY FOUR 1, Michigan, 7:34.1, 2, Michigan State, 7:36.2, 3, Notre Dame, 7:50.5, 4, Kansas State, 7:53.2, 5, Clemson, 7:55.2, 6, Kansas, 8:03.7.

FIRST NOVICE EIGHT 1, Michigan State, 6:59.1, 2, Indiana, 7:06.4, 3, Kansas, 7:14.6, 4, Kansas State, 7:15.0, 5, Clemson, 7:19.5, 6, Ohio State, 7:24.2, 7, Tennessee, 7:44.0.

A/B SEMIFINAL

FIRST VARSITY FOUR 1, Virginia, 7:44.3, 2, Minnesota, 7:49.34, 3, Michigan, 7:53.83, 4, Tennessee, 7:56.44, 5, Central Florida, 8:11.57, 6, Kansas State, 8:22.04.

C/D SEMIFINAL

FIRST VARSITY EIGHT 1, Miami (Fla.), 6:59.80, 2, Kansas, 7:03.42, 3, Kansas State, 7:05.94, 4, SMU, 7:14.60.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT 1, Miami (Fla.), 7:25.80, 2, Kansas State, 7:30.77, 3, North Carolina, 7:37.60, 4, Clemson, 8:11.30.

REPECHAGE 2

FIRST NOVICE EIGHT 1, Virginia, 7:30.00, 2, Indiana, 7:35.83, 3, Kansas State, 7:47.31, 4, Central Florida, 7:48.16, 5, North Carolina, 7:55.13, 6, Tennessee, 8:00.25.