WROW5/26/2021 2:05 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Young Bears Ready For NCAA Championships
Most Of Cal's Rowers Have Never Competed At Event
The Cal women's rowing team competes in its 21
st consecutive NCAA Championships this weekend at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. But for the majority of the Golden Bears participating, it will be their first taste of the postseason.
Cal has just six student-athletes that have NCAA Championships experience, leaving 17 of those in the Bears' boats racing at NCAAs for the initial time.
"We have a younger bunch and our senior class is small," Cal head coach
Al Acosta said. "Our seniors have done an excellent job of leading and being enthusiastic about the process. Our younger kids are picking up on that."
Graduate student
Kailani Marchak raced in the Bears' varsity eight that took fifth place at the 2019 NCAA Championships while juniors
Lucine Ahyi and
Sophie Balson rowed in the varsity four in 2019 that placed sixth. Senior
Isabella Marshall and juniors
Jane Perrignon and
Lottie Orr helped the second varsity eight win the petite final in 2019.
Marchak, Ahyi, Marshall and Perrignon are all in the varsity eight that will compete this weekend. The rest of the boat is made up of three freshmen and two sophomores.
"I think the team feels good about the team, feels good about the training, and what they have accomplished on a daily basis," Acosta said. "The attitude has been fantastic, the training has been really good and the competition level is really high."
Sophomore
Fien van Westreenen sits in the stroke seat for the varsity eight while freshmen
Tabo Stekelenburg and
Antonia Galland have been fixtures in the top boat all season. Sophomore
Kaitlyn Turner is the coxswain. Of the 53 student-athletes on the team, only 16 are upperclassmen.
"If they can train with this amount of enthusiasm and energy the next three years, that will be great," Acosta said.
The 2021 NCAA Championships being Friday morning with heats in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four. The semifinals are set for Saturday with the finals scheduled for Sunday.