May 12, 2001

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The Kansas State Varsity 8+ boat of Mo McGrath, Samantha Allen, Lara Schrock, Carissa Land, Missy Darnell, Josie McClellan, Katy Bockelman, Kelli White and Glenna Yokum qualified for the Petite Finals at the Lexus Central Division Sprints Saturday. The Wildcats rowed a time of 6:43.4 in the semifinals.

"I have a lot of confidence going into the Petite Final," head coach Jenny Hale said. "You have to race who you draw. We were three seconds behind Texas. That's a huge gain in boat speed from the past two weeks. Our goal is to go out and win the Petite Finals and do so in a fashion that verifies we should have been in the Grand Finals."

The Second Varsity 8+ boat of Brandy Sherwood, Katie Baxter, Amy Herrmann, Ingrid Shwaiko, Emily Benz, Anne Hagerman, Karen Wadhams, Susie Truax and Jill Anderson will also race in the Petite Finals tomorrow. The Wildcats rowed a time of 7:30.0 in the repechage to place fifth.

"The second varsity needs to concentrate on their quickness, and they can bring that time down considerably," Hale said. "They improved their power considerably from the morning races to the afternoon races."

The Novice 8+ boat qualified for the third-level finals after finishing in sixth place in the repechage. They rowed a time of 7:34.2.

"It was not a great race by the Novice 8+ boat," Hale said. "We came in ranked last and hoped to do better. The novices simply have to pull faster."

The finals will be held Sunday. Hale said she wants the team to do their best in what is sure to be three hard-fought races. The Varsity 8+ faced many ranked foes in the semi-final today, and Hale said she is happy with the effort.

"I am very proud of how the Varsity 8+ raced,"Hale said. "We look forward to good things tomorrow."

CENTRAL DIVISION SPRINTS

FIRST VARSITY 8

HEAT 1 -

1. Michigan State 6:47.6, 2. Iowa 6:50.4, 3. Duke 6:58.8, 4. K-STATE 7:00.7, 5. Indiana 7:03.7, 6. SMU 7:06.9, 7. Tulsa 7:40.4.

SEMIFINAL -

1. Ohio State 6:35.4, 2. Michigan State 6:37.7, 3. Notre Dame 6:38.7, 4. Texas 6:40.2, 5. K-STATE 6:43.4, 6. Minnesota 7:01.5

SEMIFINAL -

1. Michigan 6:34.4, 2. Iowa 6:40.9, 3. Kansas 6:48.1, 4. Duke 6:49.0, 5. Tulsa 6:51.9, 6. Tennessee 6:52.7.

SECOND VARSITY 8

HEAT 1 -

1. Ohio State 7:01.8, 2. Kansas 7:13.6, 3. Clemson 7:15.0, 4. Texas 7:17.6, 5. North Carolina 7:17.9, 6. K-STATE 7:22.5

REPECHAGE -

1. Iowa 6:56.5, 2. Clemson 7:00.8, 3. Texas 7:04.8, 4. Tennessee 7:14.5, 5. K-STATE 7:30.0, 6. Duke 7:47.3.

FIRST NOVICE 8

HEAT 1 - 1. Minnesota 7:03.5, 2. Kansas 7:06.4, 3. Iowa 7:18.7, 4. Ohio State 7:22.6, 5. Cincinnati 7:27.6, 6. K-STATE 7:37.9, 7. Notre Dame 7:46.1. REPECHAGE - 1. Kansas 7:12.8, 2. Ohio State 7:16.5, 3. SMU 7:17.5, 4. Duke 7:24.5, 5. Clemson 7:30.0, 6. K-STATE 7:34.2.