After a morning of heats racing that saw George Washington and Rhode Island win all of their heats, and in the case of each of the two eights, GW with a fair patch faster heat time, it looked like the finals results could be mixed up enough that the the points and AQ chase in the midday finals might require some decent mental math to figure out who won the team championship. The Rhode Island crews spared everyone the effort, especially their large fan base, by sweeping the NCAA events to defend their Atlantic 10 title, taking the championship for the third time in four years. Rams coach Shelagh Donohoe credited the senior class with leading the effort; the class has now earned the NCAA qualifier three of their four years.
"I have a lot of seniors in the top group, and they provide great leadership; they've been consistent all year," Donohoe said, and started thinking immediately about the next challenge at NCAAs. "Hopefully, with the NCAA championship being later this year, we can keep the speed going and see what we can do against other conferences."
Asked whether athletes can get so used to winning that they look past the actual racing, Donohoe conceded it can be an issue.
"I do think people can get overconfident," she said. "But we don’t really focus on the results. I think if they go out and race the way we practice - and I’m hard on them in practice - if they go out and do what they are capable of doing, they’re all right. If they do the process right, then they’re going to be happy with how they are."
Donohoe added that the crews try to put the heats, the regular season, everything behind them when the final starts.
"In a championship everybody gets faster, so whatever happened in the morning, or during the regular year, I think it’s a clean slate when it comes into a championship," she said. "You do know your own speed, but everybody else is gunning for it."
See the photos from the racing here:
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