The University of Tennessee women’s rowing team made history on the second day of the 2008 NCAA Championships, qualifying for its first grand final in program history. The Lady Vol Second Eights took second in their repechage, earning one of the six berths in Sunday’s grand final. The UT Varsity Four qualified for tomorrow’s petite final.

The Orange and White opened the day in the second 2V8+ repechage, racing against Washington, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Princeton for the right to compete for the national title on Sunday. Tennessee’s shell of sophomore coxswain Sydney Newman, seniors Nina Dobratz and Marisa Mohan, sophomores Laura Miller and Kate Snider, freshman Melissa Toms, junior Caroline Howell, freshman Rachel Dooley and senior Genevieve Collins, started off the race in third place behind the Huskies and the Badgers through the first half of the course. However, with just 1,000 meters remaining to pull into one of the top two spots which qualify for the grand final, Tennessee made its move, taking a one second, lead over Wisconsin in the third 500. The Lady Vol shell held on over the final 500 meters, finishing second in a time of 6:51.84, and earning a spot in Sunday’s grand final.

Tomorrow’s grand final will mark the first for UT, which is making just its third full-team appearance at national championships. The Big Orange 2V8+ will also set a new standard tomorrow, as it can finish no lower than sixth, and its previous best finish was last year’s eighth-place showing. The Second Eights will take on Ohio State, Virginia, Cal, Brown and Washington in the grand final which is set to begin at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.

In the Varsity Four event, the Lady Vols competed in the first repechage against Princeton, Michigan State, Yale and Washington State. Tennessee’s crew of senior coxswain Danielle Hmielewski, sophomore Jewell Ludwigsen, freshman Ruth Ann Johnson, sophomores Brittany Sehring and Stephanie Hunley, got off to a slow start and could not recover, finishing fifth. With the result, the Orange and White will now move on to the petite final on Sunday. UT will take on Ohio State, Wisconsin, Harvard, Princeton and Washington State in the final, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Division I finals will begin with the Fours petite final at 10 a.m., followed by the grand final at 10:15 a.m. The Second Eights will start with the petite final at 10:30 a.m. and the grand final at 10:45 a.m. The First Eights kick off at 11 a.m. with the “C” final, followed by the petite final at 11:15 a.m. and the grand final at 11:30 a.m. The championship awards ceremony will follow the day’s events.