DAY ONE RESULTS

GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The nationally-ranked Ithaca College women's crew team will compete in Saturday afternoon's grand final after the Bombers finished in the top two of the varsity 8 repechage on Friday on the opening day of the 2016 NCAA Division III Rowing Championship on Lake Natoma.

Ithaca, which made its 15th appearance in the NCAA Championship and is ranked fourth in the latest CRCA national poll, finished in third place in its respective heat and a spot in the repechage after crossing the finish line with a time of 6:56.481.  Melinda Keene (coxswain), Jacqueline McDevitt, Libby Burns, Jennie Peterson, Emily Morley, Emily Vosburg, Colby D'Onofrio, Karina Feitner and Krista Syracuse finished ahead of William Smith (7:11.990).  Williams won the heat and advanced to the grand final with a time of 6:41.729 while Wesleyan, which, along with Ithaca, received an at-large bid into the field, claimed second and a spot in the grand final after completing the race in 6:46.552.

The repechage, which featured Ithaca, William Smith, Washington College and Pacific Lutheran, allowed each crew a second opportunity to qualify for the grand final with the top two boats advancing.  The Bombers, which rowed in lane one, finished second to Pacific Lutheran with a time of 7:14.294, which was less than three seconds of the winning pace.

"The women felt good about their race this morning, said head coach Becky Robinson who has piloted the Bombers for 22 seasons.  "While we hoped to go directly to the final,  we knew besting either Wesleyan or Williams would be extremely difficult. Our race plan took that into account and the women are prepared for racing this afternoon in the rep."

Ithaca, along with Williams, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Bates and Pacific Lutheran will line up for the grand final at 2:36 p.m. (eastern standard time) on Saturday.  For live results, please click here.  Live video is also available by clicking here.