The University of Minnesota just missed the Grand Final by 00:01.3 seconds after finishing fourth in its respective heat today, at the NCAA Championships on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The Golden Gophers clocked a remarkable time of 6:28.819, the fourth-fastest overall among Division I First Eights teams, but were beat out by Washington State with a time of 6:27.417. The top three teams from both semifinals advance to the Grand Final. The Gophers will compete in the Petite Final at 11:30 a.m. (ET).

The Gophers had their work cut out from them before the semifinal even began. Minnesota lined up against top-ranked Princeton, Washington State (No. 3), Southern California (No. 4), Brown (No. 6), Yale (No. 8) and Stanford (No. 15). Minnesota, who is ranked No. 12 in the country, trailed early in the first 500- meters of the race. After the 500-meter mark, the Gophers kicked it in gear and starting passing through Stanford, and then Yale. Approaching the 1,000-meter mark, the Gophers passed Southern California and went head-to-head against Washington State. Heading into the final half of the race, Minnesota kept battling, but Washington State was up three seats over the Gophers and held them off at the finish line. Princeton cruised to the semifinal win of 6:20.858, while Brown came in second in a time of 6:26.356.

“We raced very well today and I’m so proud of what they have already accomplished here at the championships,” head coach Wendy Davis said. “In our semifinal, there were a lot of perennial powerhouses, and we just beat most of them. I had confidence that they could do that and the rowers knew they could do that. You gain confidence as you do it and they executed the race very well today. It’s rare that an at-large team makes the Grand Final and for a first-time team to make the Grand Final in their first championship is virtually unknown. I think we could possibly win the Petite tomorrow, but so do the other seven teams so we really need to be focused on what we can do.”

The last time an at-large team made the First Eight Grand Final was Southern California in 2003. In Minnesota's boat was coxswain Megan Flannery, Cheryl Wick at stroke, Berit Tomten, Jillian Casey, Jennifer Barnes, Laura Jatautaite, Vilma Stragyte, Erika Bartkute and Katie Biese. Because Minnesota finished fourth in the semis, it receives the lane four assignment in tomorrow’s Petite Final. Minnesota will compete against Yale, Southern California, Washington, Notre Dame, UCLA and Stanford.

Semi 1
1. Princeton 6:20.8580
2. Brown 6:26.3560
3. Washington State 6:27.4170
4. Minnesota 6:28.8190
5. Yale 6:30.3720
6. Southern California 6:33.7670
7. Stanford 6:46.0140

Semi 2
1. California 6:30.4720
2. Michigan State 6:32.1340
3. Ohio State 6:32.5750
4. Washington 6:33.9970
5. Notre Dame 6:36.9310
6. UCLA 6:43.1000

Grand Final (Tomorrow noon) 1. Princeton - Lane 4
2. Brown - Lane 2
3. Washington State - Lane 6
4. California - Lane 3
5. Michigan State - Lane 5
6. Ohio State - Lane 1

Petite Final
1. Minnesota - Lane 4
2. Yale - Lane 5
3. Southern California - Lane 1
4. Washington - Lane 3
5. Notre Dame - Lane 2
6. UCLA - Lane 6
7. Stanford - Lane 7