Blue Crew Opens NCAA Championships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Wellesley College crew team had a strong day of racing to open the 2011 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. The first varsity boat qualified for tomorrow's grand final, while the second varsity boat will race in the petite final.

Opening the morning session, the second varsity boat posted a sixth place finish in their heat. The Blue posted a time of 7:00.89 against a field of first four varsity eights and two second varsity eights.

In the morning's second race, the first varsity boat had a fantastic set, as they took second overall. The Blue were edged by Bates by just .13, as the Bobcats finished in 6:41.98 and Wellesley clocked in at 6:42.11.

Later in the afternoon, both crews raced in qualifiers, setting up tomorrow's final. In the grand qualifier, the first varsity eight won the race, sending them to the grand final tomorrow. Wellesley recorded a time of 7:04.07, outpacing Ithaca, William Smith, Williams B, Trinity and Puget Sound.

In the petite qualifier, the Blue second varsity eight also had a great race, as they took second overall. Their time of 7:23.34 was behind only Bates, while beating Ithaca, Trinity, William Smith and Marietta.

Tomorrow's finals will be held at 11:00 am PST and 11:20 am PST. Live video is available at: ncaa.com.

Wellesley Crew made the trivia board at the event!