Sometimes repetition doesn't get old.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Ohio State women's rowing team will make an appearance in the NCAA championships. The Buckeyes earned a spot after their strong performance at the Aramark Central/South Region Sprints May 18, placing third overall and second in the Central Region.
"It is a huge honor to receive a team invitation for the NCAA championships," said Mary Sheehan, a senior. "But it still means that over the next week-and-a-half we have a lot of work to do to get faster for nationals."
The Buckeyes continued their recent run of success at regionals in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to receive the NCAA berth.
"This race course has always produced favorable results for our team," senior Patricia Goodeman said. "We have automatically qualified for NCAAs for the past five years in a row by winning the Central Region Championship."
After five years of winning the Central Region, OSU finished second, surpassed by Michigan State. The effort was still strong enough to qualify for the NCAAs.
"I don't believe that they were stronger than us," senior Gabriele Albertaviciute said of Michigan State. "It's just they were working better as a unit than us."
If it were not for a poor showing from the First Varsity Eight squad, the Buckeyes might have stretched the winning streak to six. The First Varsity Eight squad placed seventh overall in the 1V8 standings, failing to qualify for the Grand Final race.
"I was disappointed because we did not make it to the Grand Finals in my boat, but we did as well as we could on that day," Goodeman said. "That's really all you can ask."
The rest of the OSU team was able to rally however, picking up the slack for the First Varsity Eight. The Second Varsity Eight crew won its Grand Final race, while the First and Second Varsity Four crews finished third and second respectively in their Grand Final races.
"When one boat does poorly, it puts a burden on the other boats to do well to supplement their poor score, which is what happened this year," Goodeman said. "The rest of the team stepped up, which allowed us to qualify for the NCAAs."
The team-first attitude will only serve to help the Buckeyes at the NCAAs May 30 and June 1 in Gold River, Calif.
"The fact that the rest of the team stepped up and did as well as we did really exemplifies what being a team is all about," Sheehan said.
After last year's NCAA performance, there is no reason for the Buckeyes to lack confidence. OSU made program history, finishing third as a team overall with the First Varsity Eight placing second in the Grand Final race. It was the highest placing for a Buckeye boat in OSU history.
"This is the end of my career at Ohio State, and I know I will do my best to repeat our last year result," Albertaviciute said. "I have faith in every single girl in my boat."
Scott Polacek can be reached at polacek.3@osu.edu.
2008 Woodie Awards
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