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PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA nation. Virginia's first varsity eight continued to stay hot, posting a 7.3-second victory (6:33.9 to 6:41.2) over Michigan. The varsity four matched the momentum of their counterparts and handed the Wolverines another decisive defeat (7:39.50 to 7:49.46). UVa also defeated Michigan in the novice eight and third varsity four races. "The varsity eight race against Michigan was one of the most exciting races of the season," Sauer said. "I was pretty sure that we were pretty good before that, but that is when I really knew that they were good. That was a turning point where they believed they could win the whole thing." "When we went into that race [with Michigan], we knew that we were the top two varsity eights," O'Brien added. "This year, we had this thing where once we got ahead, we just picked up and kept go- ing. It was really special for us and it was a confi- dence builder." The Cavaliers continued to roll later that day, earning four victories over No. 4 Ohio State. The afternoon session was highlighted by an impressive win in the first varsity eight and a narrow victory in the first varsity four. When it came time for the national championship weekend, the Cavaliers were familiar with the teams they would be facing. The program's quest for a sec- ond team title would prove to be a fight to the finish. The second varsity eight entered the regatta seeded 11th, but finished fifth overall. The first varsity four was seeded third, but narrowly finished second. Virginia, California and Michigan were essen- tially tied heading into the first varsity eight final. The Wolverines were looking to avenge their varsity eight loss to the Cavaliers and opened up an early lead in the first 500 meters. As the race went on, Virginia overtook Michigan and held off a late rally to finish first with a time of 6:18.72. For the first time in school history, UVa had won the first varsity eight race at the NCAA Championships. The win gave Virginia a final score of 87, topping Michigan (82), California (78) and Princeton (77). "Winning the varsity eight for the first time in school history was so amazing," O'Brien said. "We had nine amazing, really talented girls that were so dedicated to getting the gold." Due to severe weather, all the races had to be squeezed in to a small timeframe and not everyone CAVALIER CORNER ◆ AUGUST 2012 ◆ 33